


Don't mind me (i was just thinking of you)

by puppybusby



Category: Call the Midwife
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Patsy is a sad puppy, Slow Burn, Trixie and Tony are the ultimate shippers, everybody will probably make a cameo tbh, idk what else to tag
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-10
Updated: 2018-01-06
Packaged: 2018-10-02 09:11:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 28,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10214243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/puppybusby/pseuds/puppybusby
Summary: “I came as soon as i heard.” Tony said, setting the bags down. “I also brought fish and chips.”“I gave you that key for emergencies.” Patsy frowned. “Heard what?”“Patience Mount dramatically meeting a potential romantic interest in the rain? It’s the definition of an emergency.” Tony grinned. “I demand details.”(Or: The flower shop au nobody asked for)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my first time writing for the pupcake fandom (and tbh the first time i've written in like 9 months) but this ship has consumed my entire soul and i am not emotionally ready for the finale on sunday
> 
> Title taken from 'Don't mind me' by Walking on Cars

  
  
  
“Have a nice day.” Patsy smiled.

The customer grabbed the bouquet of flowers and the change from Patsy’s hand, murmuring a thank you under his breath and hurrying out of the shop, leaving Patsy to stare after him. It was equal parts amusing and irritating.

The ever lasting joys of customer service.

It had been a quiet day too, she had sold just enough to break even but the long periods of time where she was left completely alone.

Many games of candy crush had been played, so there was that.

Patsy walked over to the front door, flipping the sign to _closed._ She reached up to lock the door (there had been far too many cases of customers trying to come in to browse after closing) only to freeze when a figure appeared in front of the door.  
  
“Tony!” Patsy exclaimed, pulling the door open and covering her heart with her free hand. “You scared the life out of me.”

Tony grinned as he walked into the shop and reached out to pat her shoulders consolingly. “Sorry pet, i saw the lights still on, shouldn’t you be closed by now?”  
  
“Last minute customer.”  
  
Tony nodded, as someone who worked part time as a mechanic he was more than familiar with the ins and outs of customer service.  
  
“Are you just popping by or were you planning on staying?” Patsy asked.

Tony grinned. “I figured i’d at least stay for a cup of tea. Catch up with my favourite human.”

“Don’t let Trixie hear you say that.” Patsy warned. She walked over to the counter and reached for her keys. “Here, you may as well head up and put the kettle on. I’ll be with you as soon as i’ve locked up.”

“I promise not to mess up your perfect flat.” He saluted.

Patsy smiled as he left, she didn’t doubt that he wouldn’t, Tony was _almost_ as tidy as she was but she also knew that he would make it his mission to sniff out any biscuits she may or may not have hidden.  
  


If asked, Patsy would call her flat cosy. It was directly above her shop, she didn’t have any annoying neighbours to deal with, it was (relatively) affordable and easy to maintain and she adored the comfort and safety the one bedroom home provided.

She knew that if asked, Trixie would call Patsy’s home tiny.

She wasn’t entirely sure where Tony stood on the matter, only that he didn’t approve of the way she had decorated her kitchen.

_(“Blue fridge? Patsy, honey, we’re not in the fifties.”)_

Still, it didn’t stop him from exploring every corner, if the plate of custard creams on her coffee table was anything to go by.

“So, to what do i owe the pleasure?” Patsy asked, pausing by her front door to slip her shoes off, leaving them beside Tony’s and moving to join him on the sofa.

“Do i need a reason?”  
  
“No.” Patsy agreed. “But seeing as we saw each other for lunch two days ago i can’t help but feel you might have an ulterior motive,” She eyed the plate of biscuits and took one. “Besides raiding my cupboards, of course.”

Tony sighed into a bite of a custard cream. “You always buy the best biscuits.”  
  
“Tony.”  
  
“I… May have also wondered if you wanted to come out tonight.” Tony said.

“Absolutely not.”

Tony wasn’t deterred, it was a weekly conversation between them- although sometimes he would have Trixie at his side to help. “Why not?”  
  
“I have a delivery arriving in the morning. I need to be ready for it when it arrives, i need to make sure everything is there and organised, i need to make sure all of my paperwork is in order. I have bills to pay, all while maintaining my business and serving customers.” Patsy said, aware at how her voice had slowly become sharper but unable to stop herself regardless.

“I figured you'd be in need of a night out, you've been working so hard, I'm just a little worried you'll run yourself into the ground.” Tony replied gently.

“I need to work that hard to keep my shop running.” Patsy sighed.

It wasn't that the shop was struggling, by all accounts, things were going well, great even.

It was just a lot of work to do alone.

“Shame, I could do with a dance partner.” Tony said, smirking.

Patsy was thankful for the slight shift in topic, it felt as though some of the heat had been taken off of her.

“Missing Trixie are you?” Patsy teased.

Tony all but groaned. “Tomorrow cannot come fast enough. I'm considering having a word or two with Paris for stealing her away from us.”

“I'm sure they await your letter with baited breath.”

They drank their tea in silence for a few moments, Patsy watching as Tony relaxed into the sofa. 

“Considering I can't whisk you away for the evening, I should probably head out.” Tony said eventually, almost reluctantly. “Are you sure I can't convince you?”

“Quite sure.”

Tony frowned and rose from his seat, Patsy got up, following him out of her flat and walking him down the stairs to the front door.

“Patsy, I'm probably going to sound a little pushy but know that I'm only saying it because I love and care for you.”

Patsy raised an eyebrow. “Okay?”

“You should get a hobby, or a cat. Something, at least.”

“A cat isn't a hobby.”

“No, but a cat would stop you from being so alone in that flat every night. You could get a ginger one. Call him cinnamon.” Tony grinned. “You two could be twins!”

Patsy slapped him gently on the arm. “Rude. I feel as though you're telling me to be a cat lady.”

“Well I know how much you love pu-”

Patsy almost shoved him out of the door. “Don't even say it Tony Amos I swear to god.”

Tony laughed brightly and pulled her into a brief hug, kissing her on the cheek. “Love you pet, think about it okay? Send Trixie my love if you see her before I do.”

“Have a good night.” Patsy called after him.  
  


As she curled up on the sofa with her dinner, tv switched onto a generic reality show purely for background noise, Patsy couldn't help but wonder if Tony did have a point.

She wasn't lonely though. She wasn't.

She  _almost_ believed herself.

 

* * *

 

Beyond the brief text from Trixie saying that she had landed safely, Patsy hadn’t heard from her friend all morning.

It kept Patsy on edge, constantly checking her phone and barely resisting the urge to just call the woman, especially because Patsy knew what Trixie was like and that she would no doubt be there as soon as she was able.

(No doubt in a very Trixie style)

She got her answer just before noon when the bell above the door rang loudly and Patsy looked over to see Trixie stood in the doorway, wearing a sleek black dress and wide brimmed hat.

“Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes.” Patsy sighed. She gestured to Trixie’s outfit. “Very Audrey Hepburn circa Breakfast at Tiffany’s.”

Trixie’s smile was blinding, she took her hat off and walked into the shop with the ease of confidence she has always had (even more, if it were possible)  
  
“Audrey has nothing on me.” Trixie pulled Patsy into a hug, clinging to her tightly. “Oh i’ve missed you.”  
  
“I was just about to close for lunch.” Patsy said. “Will you come?”  
  
Trixie beamed. “I just got back from Paris and i haven’t seen my most dear friend in two weeks. As if you even have to ask.”  
  


“Honestly Patsy, the clothes were to die for and the food.” Trixie made a sound of joy. “You have to go.”

“I’m really glad you had a good time.” Patsy replied. “Tony was worried that Paris would steal you away from us.” She added with a laugh. She did share his sentiment though, she had so few friends, losing Trixie would be too much.

“Paris was incredible, but my home is here with you guys. But enough about me and my trip.” Trixie waved a hand and reached for her cup of coffee. “How have things been with you?”  
  
“Valentine’s day was busy, but it’s eased up a bit now. It’ll probably be pretty steady until the buildup to Mother’s-”  
  
“Not with the business, silly.” Trixie chided. “I want to know how _you_ are doing.”

“I… I’m fine.”   
  
She felt at a genuine loss about what else she could say. What had she done in the time Trixie had been gone? Other than work, that is.

Damn.

Trixie tilted her head to the side, quietly regarding Patsy. Patsy could already hear the string of follow up questions and her brain was racing to think of her responses to each possible scenario.

“That’s good.” Trixie said eventually. “I’m glad to hear that.” She paused to check her watch. “How long do you have left of lunch?”

“I should probably get back soon, i shouldn’t be closed for too long. Besides, i think i’ve taken enough of your time, you probably have lots of people you need to see right?”  
  
“Oh Patsy, I've already visited my mother and Tony will no doubt come by later, anybody else can wait. I wanted to see you first.”

Patsy glanced down at their table.  
  
“Shall we head back? We have work to do.”  
  
  
  
“So they’re turning the place across the street into a sweet shop?” Trixie hummed. “'Gilbert’s sweet emporium.' What a charming little name.”  
  
“It could definitely bring in more customers.” Patsy agreed.

Trixie rolled her eyes. “Always about the business with you.”

Patsy glared over her armful of flowers.  
  
Trixie laughed. “I can see you’re attempting to be intimidating though i must say the tulips ruin the effect considerably.”

Patsy sighed and eyed the sky through the window. “I don’t know why i’m even bothering. Look at that sky, we're not going to get any customers.”  
  
“I know, i’m back for a few hours and a literal storm rolls in.” Trixie turned to her. “Can i do anything to help?”  
  
“Put the kettle on?”  
  
“You’re so British sometimes. I meant actual work.”

Patsy walked over to the counter to set the flowers down. She spent a moment wondering what kind of arrangements she could make from them before turning back to Trixie. “I stand by my kettle request.”

The depth of Trixie’s eye roll was a sight to behold.

A bright flash of yellow from the corner of her vision was all the warning Patsy had before a flower was thrust under her nose.  
  
“And what is this?” Trixie asked.  
  
“Gerbera, Trix. It’s a daisy.”

“...Oh.”

“Trixie, not that I don't appreciate your company, but don't you have anywhere else you'd rather be? I’d hate for you to waste your day hanging around here.”

“It's a rather romantic place to be, ample chances to meet eligible men.” Trixie smiled and turned her head to face Patsy. “And women, of course. It'd be like something out of a movie.”

Patsy raised an eyebrow at the deflection. “You’re here on the off chance of initiating a meet cute?”

Trixie waved a hand dismissively, almost slapping Patsy in the face with the flower in the process. “Details, details. Do you have any plans tonight?”

Patsy frowned at the shift in conversation and turned her attention to the rain outside. “Even if I did, I would have half a mind to cancel just to avoid going out there.”

“Speaking of…” Trixie began. “What do we do about the displays outside?”

Patsy sighed. “Hope the weather calms down in the next hour or power through and regret our life choices.”

“You opened a flower shop. Not me.”

“I get paid to be here, what’s your excuse?”

“Touche.”  
  


No amount of begging or attempted bribery would convince Trixie to help her bring the displays indoors, the canopy overhead did next to nothing to shield her.

Stupid wind.

“Beatrix Franklin, i’m going to get you back for this.” Patsy warned, not bothering to look over to her friend as she set the roses down.

“The flowers really do ruin the effect, Patsy, I’m sorry.”  
  
“Incorrigible.” Patsy murmured.

She shivered as she headed back outside, sighing for good measure when she realised that the only things she had left to bring in was the display of mini cacti (with googly eyes for added tackiness)  
  
So tacky and yet she always made sure she had some in stock.  
  
At least as soon as she was done, she could go upstairs and change into the cosiest jumper she had.

“Excuse me?”  
  
The Welsh lilt registered in Patsy’s mind as she turned to the source of the voice and damn near dropped the box in her hands.

Blue eyes sparkled and Patsy could just about make out the dark hair peeking out from under the woman's hood. Despite clearly being exposed to the rain for some time, she had a bright smile and her relaxed posture suggested that it didn't bother her one bit.

Truthfully, it took Patsy a good few seconds to remember how words worked.

“Yes?”

“You wouldn't happen to know where the Hare and hounds pub is, would you?” The woman asked. “I'm supposed to be meeting some people from work and I'm afraid I'm pretty lost.”  
  
Patsy nodded. “Sure, it's- well, actually it's probably easier if I just wrote the directions for you?”

“If it's not too much trouble, I'd really appreciate that.”

“No problem.” Patsy pushed the door open and held it so that the woman could pass through. “I just need to set these down.”

The woman glanced down at the box of cacti in Patsy’s arms and laughed. “Cute. And the cactus's aren't too bad either.” She added with a wink.

Patsy tried to ignore the blush she could feel creeping across her cheeks but was foiled miserably when she spotted Trixie’s gaze shoot in their direction at hearing the woman's words.

“Trixie, could you grab a pen and paper?”

Trixie beamed. “It would be my pleasure.”

Patsy loved Trixie. She was her best friend and Patsy was fairly sure she'd die for her.

But right now? She kind of wanted to kill her.

Patsy set the box down on the counter and cleared her throat. “You're not too far away.” She explained as she scribbled down a list of directions. “I think it’s about a fifteen minute walk, it’d probably take you twenty at most.”

“Was that a quip about my shorter legs?” The woman asked.

Patsy span around to face the woman, horrified. “Oh god no, I-”

She was cut off by laughter. “I'm kidding! Your face!”

Patsy heard Trixie giggle. That traitor.

“Just for that I'm going to throw this away.” Patsy teased, making a show of folding up the list of directions before holding them out for the woman to take.

She laughed again. Patsy thought it was the most beautiful sound she had ever heard.

“You're a lifesaver. Truly.”

“It's no problem.” Patsy replied.

“Either way, I really appreciate it.”

“Oh… Well you’re welcome.”

The woman smiled up at her, though she made no immediate move to leave. The silence stretched on, filling the shop until Patsy began to feel her palms itch with the awkwardness of it all.

“I’ll get out of your way, you were in the middle of closing before I barged in.”

“I- We don't mind.” Patsy said quickly. She just knew Trixie was raising an eyebrow right now. “You definitely brightened our day.”

“Oh absolutely.” Trixie agreed.

“Likewise.” The woman beamed. She walked backwards until she reached the door. “I'll leave you both to it. Have a good night.”

“You too.” Patsy replied. “I hope you get there safely.”

She was blessed with one more smile before the woman left. Patsy stared after her for a few moments before accepting her fate and turning to Trixie, who, unsurprisingly, was grinning at her.

“Well. Wasn't that something?”

“Nope. It was nothing.” Patsy shook her head. “Not a thing.”

“So you weren't just making heart eyes and flirting with the extremely attractive tiny Welsh woman? Who, for the record, was flirting even harder than you were?”

“There was no flirting!” Patsy protested and god, her cheeks felt like they were on fire. Trixie was having far too much fun with this entire scenario. “I'm going to finish closing.”  


Trixie was silent as they finished closing up, she remained silent even as they headed up to Patsy’s flat.

In all the time Patsy had known Trixie, she really should have known the woman was up to something.

Which was why, when Tony stormed through the door twenty minutes later with bags in hand, Patsy’s immediate response (after the brief initial heart attack) was to glare at Trixie.

“I came as soon as i heard.” Tony said, setting the bags down. “I also brought fish and chips.”  
  
“I gave you that key for emergencies.” Patsy frowned. “Heard what?”  
  
“Patience Mount dramatically meeting a potential romantic interest in the rain? It’s the definition of an emergency.” Tony grinned. “I demand details.” He looked down at the bags. “Also plates.”  
  
“There’s nothing to say, despite what Trixie may have told you.” Patsy replied, sparing a moment to throw another glare at Trixie as she moved towards the kitchen.  
  
“She’s very charming and Patsy didn’t even ask her name.” Trixie spoke up. “Though she did seem to render our dear friend rather speechless.”  
  
“She did not!” Patsy shot back.  
  
Trixie merely raised an eyebrow. Tony sighed.  
  
“Right ladies, grab your food. Trixie, tell me everything, spare no detail.”  
  
“It’ll be my pleasure.”  
  
Patsy groaned, it was going to be a long night.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i don't really have a schedule planned out for this bc of work and stuff but i hope you enjoy it!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAY BUT CAN WE TALK ABOUT THAT FINALE OH MY GOD   
> I am still speechless, but i already had this written and edited so i figured why not
> 
> 90% of this chapter brought to you by: my obsession with bees

 

It had become somewhat of a tradition for Patsy to bring flowers to the nunnery a few streets away from her shop- Patsy wasn’t an overly religious woman, her years spent in a Catholic boarding school pretty much saw to that. But it felt like the least she could contribute.

“Ah, Ms Mount.” Sister Julienne greeted. “Please do come in.”  
  
“Sister Julienne, please call me Patsy. ‘Ms Mount’ makes me feel about forty years old.” Patsy replied. She held up the bouquet. “Daffodils, to welcome Spring.”   
  
Sister Julienne laughed brightly. “As you wish. And your kindness is always appreciated. How are you feeling, Patsy?”

Patsy hesitated for a moment as she debated on what to say, she knew Sister Julienne well enough to know that she would see through any lie that Patsy dared to tell.

Besides, lying to a nun. It just felt wrong.

“I'm a little tired, to be honest. But it's nothing that isn't fixed by a good cup of tea.”

“Working hard?”

“It feels as though work is all I do.”

Sister Julienne nodded, looking slightly more thoughtful than usual. “It's always good to work hard, especially when you enjoy your work. But you mustn't let it consume your life.”

“So.... You're essentially telling me to go out and have fun?”

“In a sense. Yes.” Sister Julienne laughed. “You’re young, Patsy. You should try to experience as much as you can.” 

“Yes, well.” Patsy cleared her throat. “I had better go and get ready to open up.”

“Of course, I shan't keep you any longer. And thank you again for the flowers.”

Patsy smiled. “Anytime. I'll see you next week.”

 

  
  
Patsy prided herself on keeping everything together (emotionally and literally).   
  
All of her paperwork was always flawlessly organised in an easy to understand system. Between her paperwork and cleaning, Patsy could always keep herself occupied for a few hours every day in between serving customers.   
  
Especially when she had Trixie and Tony distracting her with texts constantly.

The bell overhead the door chimed. “Hard at work as always Patsy?” Phyllis greeted.

Patsy looked up from her work and smiled. “Quite. It's good to see you again, Phyllis.”

Patsy had met Phyllis at a farmers market back before she had opened up her shop. She had seen her at a stall with two other women bickering so loudly that almost the whole market could hear them. They had been selling a selection of fruits and vegetables and even jars of honey.   
  
They’d quietened down when they realised that Patsy was stood there and Phyllis had quickly introduced herself and the women she was with- Antonia and Enid and had gone on to tell her about how the three of them were avid gardeners who lived just out of the city and how Antonia’s sudden obsession with taking care of bees led to them owning a few hives.   
  
(“Without them, our world will surely fail!” Antonia had declared proudly.)   
  
Patsy had immediately been drawn to their philosophies and in a sense, had been taken under their wings. 

Since Patsy had opened the shop, Phyllis had taken to driving into the city every couple of weeks to bring Patsy honey to sell, along with some fruit and vegetables (generally at Enid’s insistence, Patsy still didn’t know why.)

It was a business arrangement that worked out rather well for them all.

“I'll be glad to see the end of this winter.” Phyllis said. “It does a number on Antonia’s bees and it makes Enid a right old grouch.”

Patsy laughed. “If i know anything about Enid, it’s that it doesn’t take much.”  
  
“Oh her bark is far worse than her bite, i can promise you that.” Phyllis sat a crate down onto the counter. “They both send their love by the way. Enid insisted you have some jam, otherwise Antonia would eat it all.”

“You’re all wonderful, you didn’t have to do that.”   
  
“It’s no problem, Patsy. We appreciate all of the help you give us.” 

Patsy rubbed the back of her neck and avoided Phyllis’s gaze. “Ah, I left your pay in the back room, I'll be back in a mo.”

In the short time it took to head into the back room, she hesitated to call it her office, as it tended to double as a storage room for… basically everything. She heard the bell chime again. Patsy grabbed the envelope and darted out of the room, only to completely freeze in place.

It was the woman from the other night, happily in the middle of a conversation with Phyllis.   
  
She looked even prettier than last time, Patsy didn’t even know how that was possible. She was wearing a baggy denim jacket decorated with pins and patches, jeans and bright red converse.  
  
She looked incredible.

Patsy felt her nerves begin to kick in, though she did her best to swallow it down and force a smile to her face. “Lost again?”  
  
Phyllis looked between the two of them quizzically, the woman turned to her and beamed.

“Not quite, i was in the neighbourhood. Last time i was here you were closing, i wanted to see what this place looked like in the daytime.” She set a tiny cactus on the counter. “And also to buy one of these.”

“They’re cute!”  
  
“They do have a charm about them.” Phyllis agreed.   
  
“How was your night? Did you make it to the pub alright?” Patsy asked.

The woman shrugged. “The company was okay but the pub was great, i think i’ll be making that place my new regular.” She shoved her hands into her pockets and cocked her head to the side. “Do you go there often?”  
  
“Sometimes, Trixie and Tony drag me there occasionally for the pub quizzes.” Patsy replied.   
  
“Sounds like fun.” The woman nodded slowly. Her gaze drifted to the jars of honey and Patsy could only watch in awe as her eyes lit up. “Is that homemade? Are you a keeper too? Beekeeper!” She cleared her throat. “Are you a beekeeper?”

“I’m afraid the beekeeper would be my friend Antonia.” Phyllis spoke up. “We have somewhat of a business arrangement with Patsy.”

God bless that woman. Patsy couldn’t remember how to form words. She couldn’t tell if the woman was flirting with her or if that was just her general personality. She felt like literal sunshine.

Either way, Patsy was thankful that Trixie and Tony wasn’t there to witness what was happening.  
  
“Patsy? Cute name. It suits you. What’s it short for?”   
  
Patsy winced. “Do i have to?”   
  
“I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours.” The woman grinned and saluted with two fingers. “I’m Delia.”   
  
“Patience. Though please, for the love of god, just call me Patsy.”   
  
Delia laughed. “It’s nice to meet you, Patsy.”   
  
“Likewise.”   
  
Their eyes met in a long stare, until Phyllis pointedly cleared her throat.

“I’m sorry to interrupt ladies, but i’ll have to head off. I’ve got quite a few more errands to run and if i don’t stick to my own schedule, Enid will never let me live it down.”  
  
Patsy pulled her attention from Delia and smiled. “Of course, thank you Phyllis. Here’s the money for the honey.”   
  
Delia laughed quietly, when Patsy raised an eyebrow at her she shrugged. “You rhymed.”   
  
Patsy groaned internally, Delia was so cute. It was actually killing her.   
  
Phyllis smiled at them both, bidding them goodbye once more before leaving them alone.   
  
“How much do i owe you for the cactus?” Delia asked.

Patsy shrugged. “It’s on the house.”  
  
“Are you sure?”   
  
“Definitely.”   
  
“You’re sweet, you know that right?”   
  
“Flatterer.”   
  
Delia grinned. Before she could reply, however, her phone chimed with a message. She quickly pulled it out. “Ah shit. I’m running late.” She looked apologetically at Patsy. “Work calls and i still need to get home to change.” 

“I know the feeling, do you need a little bag for your cactus?”  
  
“Nah, i’ll just carry him.”   
  
“Him?”   
  
“His name is Pete. Prickly Pete.”   
  
Patsy laughed. “Good name, do you know how to take care of a cactus?”   
  
Delia shrugged. “How hard can it be?” She grinned at Patsy. “I’ll see you around.”   
  
“Plan on getting lost again?”   
  
Delia looked Patsy up and down before she grinned, her gaze focused on Patsy’s face. “Absolutely.” 

Patsy watched Delia leave, and as soon as she was out of sight, she buried her face in her hands and sighed.

She stayed like that for a few minutes, until she felt her phone vibrate on the counter.

Patsy glanced at the message that lit up her screen.

_Trixie:  
_ _Tony's tonight, meet at 7 xox_

 

  
  
“I have to say, this feels a lot like an intervention.” Patsy joked upon entering Tony's flat.

Or rather, attempted to joke. Neither Trixie or Tony laughed and they were both wearing serious expressions as they sat side by side on Tony’s sofa.

It did nothing to ease the anxiety in her gut.

“Me and Trixie have been talking.” Tony began. He gestured to the armchair opposite them and Patsy reluctantly lowered herself into it. 

“Oh no. Are you both breaking up with me?”

Trixie rolled her eyes, but her facade broke and she smiled. “Really, Patsy? You always turn into a joker when we try to be serious.”

They were all very aware of how humour was often used as a defence mechanism. 

“Go on then, put me out of my misery.” Patsy replied. She was a little proud of herself for how calm she sounded, she wasn't sure how she looked from the outside but internally she felt like she was a few minutes away from a panic attack.

“We’re worried you're working too hard.” Trixie said.

Patsy scoffed. “Really? I have a business to run.”  
  
She should have known that her work was going to be the topic of conversation, and as irritated as she was at it, she couldn't help but also feel relieved. She may have been joking about them breaking up with her, but sometimes Patsy was genuinely terrified that one day her friends would get sick of her and leave.

“And we understand that.” Tony replied gently, pulling her from her thoughts. “But you're doing it all on your own when you don't have to and your life is suffering from it.”

Patsy opened her mouth to protest, only to be stopped by Trixie holding a hand up.

“Just hear us out Patsy, please.”

Patsy folded her arms and settled back into her seat, feeling very much like a scolded child.

“Aside from going to your cubs meeting every Thursday, and the blue moon where one of us manage to drag you out, you don't really socialise. You work alone and you live alone. It's not healthy.”

“I suppose this is the part where you tell me that you've set me up on a series of blind dates?”

Tony barked out a laugh. “Heavens no! You'd never speak to us again if we pulled a stunt like that.”

“We’re suggesting that you let us help you, Patsy. Running a business, as you know, is hard work. Hard work that you don't have to do alone.” Trixie explained. “And we want to help.”

“You both already have jobs.” Patsy pointed out.

Honestly, she was feeling rather overwhelmed by the whole conversation.

“I'm part time, I've already worked out an arrangement.” Tony said with a wave of his hand.

“And I've decided to hang up my leotard and retire from the life of a fitness instructor.” Trixie added.

“What will you do?” Patsy asked. “I thought you loved that job.”

Trixie shrugged. “I have some other ideas about where to go from here, for now i want to explore this avenue. But don't try and distract me! This conversation is about you.” She shifted forward in her seat to take Patsy’s hand and graciously chose to ignore how sweaty her palms were. “I know you have the budget for this, you're meticulous in your planning.”

Patsy nodded, Trixie was right.

(Truthfully, she was seldom wrong.)

But it didn't bring Patsy much comfort to know that. All this time she thought she had been handling everything well. She was living and working independently. She was in control, she was coping.

Although her friends clearly didn't think so.

“If you’re worried, we can ask Phyllis to go through your books with you? Get a plan drawn up and organised?” Trixie suggested.

“What do you say, Patsy?” Tony asked.

Patsy considered everything for a moment. If she accepted their help, then she would be left with so much free time… only, what would she do with it?

She looked to her friends, taking in their concerned eyes and gentle smiles and felt her heart ache with the kindness of it all.  
  
She didn't think she could say no to them even if she really wanted to.

“Okay.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> feel free to hmu on tumblr (puppydanvers) if you want to cry over the finale/talk pupcake headcanons


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's been a week since ctm finished and i don't know what to do with my life, sunday's have never felt so hollow

 

“Have you considered getting a rolodex, Patsy?” Phyllis asked, peering over her glasses at her.

“They are awfully efficient.” Patsy sighed. “But without the contacts to fill them, i’m afraid it'd just gather dust.”

Phyllis gave her a firm pat on the shoulder. “Don't worry kid, by the time I'm through with you, this will be a well oiled ship.”

“It can only get better!” Trixie chimed in helpfully.

She had insisted on starting today, insisting that she could handle any customers while Phyllis helped Patsy on an organisational level.

“I think so long as you agree on your shifts two weeks in advance, it gives all of you a chance to work out any kinks-” Phyllis raised an eyebrow at what sounded like Trixie giggling into some daffodils. “And shift patterns are easily negotiated.”

Patsy nodded. “With two people on shift at a time it means we can make sure we all take proper breaks too.”

“Exactly, it's not healthy to work so many long hours alone.”

They all looked over to the door as a woman entered, smiling sheepishly at the sudden attention and holding up a hand in a gentle greeting. Patsy immediately made a move to rise from her seat but was stopped by Trixie pointing at her and mouthing _‘stay!’_ Before approaching the woman herself and asking if she needed any assistance.

Patsy didn't doubt Trixie's customer service skills at all, in fact she knew the woman was more than capable, but she couldn't help but try to listen in on them.

Phyllis, however, was having none of it.

“Tell me Patsy, do you do deliveries?”

Patsy swallowed and shook her head quickly. “Not really. I don't drive.” She brushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear. “I have done the occasional wedding though.”

“And how do you deliver them if you don’t drive?”

“Tony tends to call in a favour.”

Phyllis tutted. “That won't do at all, I'll happily lend my assistance for any future big deliveries. But I suggest hiring somebody specifically for smaller jobs.”

“Can I afford that though?” Patsy asked. “An extra wage plus reimbursement for petrol?”  
  
“You could always hire a student.” Trixie suggested, leaning over the counter. “They can bring their own bike.”

“Is that fair?” Patsy frowned.   
  
“So long as you follow laws and pay a fair wage for the work they’ll be doing, it’s not a problem.” Phyllis replied. “It’s actually a really good idea.”   
  
“Thank you, Phyllis.” Trixie beamed.

“Excuse me,” the customer called. Everyone turned to her expectantly.   
  
“I’m sorry, can we help at all?” Patsy asked.   
  
“I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation.” The woman explained, Patsy smiled at the Scottish accent. “Were you considering hiring someone for a delivery job?”   
  
“Sure, why? Are you interested?”   
  
The woman laughed. “Oh no no, my son, Timothy. He’s about to do his final GCSE’s and usually he helps out at his father's surgery but i think he wants to be a little more independent.”   
  
Patsy shared a quick look with Trixie and Phyllis before shrugging. “Sure, have him come by whenever he’s free and we’ll talk to him Ms…”   
  
“Mrs Turner. But please call me Shelagh.” Shelagh smiled. “Oh this is wonderful, i’ll be sure to tell him. Could i also be a bother and ask for some advice on what type of arrangement would work best?”   
  
“It’s not a bother at all!” Trixie replied, moving towards Shelagh immediately and left Patsy and Phyllis to finish with their paperwork.   
  
  
  
  
Phyllis settled back in her seat and let out a satisfied sigh, pulling off her glasses and setting them down. “Well everything seems to be in order, if you’re agreeable?”

Patsy nodded thoughtfully. “Looks like it.” Honestly, she was impressed. Phyllis’s organisational skills were something of legend. Patsy wanted to learn her ways. “Thank you so much, Phyllis.”

“Excellent. I suppose i should leave you both to the rest of your day.” Phyllis rose from her seat.   
  
She barely took two steps before making a surprised sound and turning back to Patsy.   
  
“Oh, I forgot to ask, you and that girl the other day, Delia, was it? Do you know each other well?”   
  
Patsy’s gaze shot up to look at the older woman just as Trixie span around to face them.   
  
“Delia? Who on earth is Delia?” Trixie demanded.  
  
“Nobody.”   
  
Trixie was unconvinced, she turned to Phyllis and raised her hand to just below her shoulders. “About this high, dark hair, blue eyes, incredibly Welsh?”

“That sounds like her, yes.”  
  
“Patience Mount!” Trixie gasped. “She came back? You know her name?! Patsy, i need details.”   
  
Patsy sighed. “She stopped by the other day, brought a tiny cactus. Nothing to tell.”   
  
“Shockingly Patsy, i don’t believe you. Phyllis, was there flirting?”   
  
Phyllis seemed to pick up on the vague distress signals Patsy was sending out. “It wouldn’t be my place to say, i left shortly after she arrived.” She checked her watch. “And i should absolutely be leaving now.”   
  
Phyllis made a quick escape, leaving Patsy at Trixie’s mercy.   
  
Trixie leaned against the counter and rested her chin in the palm of her hand. “So. Delia.”   
  
“Trixie, please don’t.”   
  
“Come on Patsy.” Trixie sighed dramatically. “We've both been single for far too long, indulge me.”

“There's nothing to indulge.”

“Then surely you won't mind telling me what happened.”

They glared at each other for several moments, Patsy felt her resolve slowly fade until she groaned.

“Sod it. Heavens knows you won't leave me alone unless it tell you.”

“You're damn right.”  


 

* * *

  
  
  
Patsy wasn’t used to having time off. In fact, the only time she had ever taken a time off was when she had caught the flu and physically couldn’t move.   
  
(Tony had camped out on her sofa for two days, Trixie had brought soup)

This time she wasn’t ill. It was her first real day off and also the first time she had left the store solely in Trixie and Tony’s care.

Suddenly Patsy felt very unsure as to what to do with her day.   
  
At first, Patsy had tried to hang around her apartment, definitely without the intention of backseat running her own store. Trixie and Tony had quickly stopped her plans and essentially kicked her out of her own home. 

Patsy really wished she had planned the whole situation a bit better.   
  
She ducked into a coffee shop with the full intention of spending her day taking advantage of the free wi-fi.  
  
  


Patsy set her phone down on the table and sighed.

She had tried to be nonchalant as she called Trixie, though she had cottoned onto Patsy’s attempt to check in on them.

Trixie had reassured Patsy that everything was going smoothly, Patsy was almost disappointed that she didn't have a reason to go back.

“I need a hobby.” Patsy groaned into her hands.

There was only so much time she could spend on coffee shops and the prices weren't exactly an incentive to spend a lot of time there.

She may or may not be on her third coffee already.

When she had arrived it had been after the initial morning rush so she had managed to grab a table, she was thankful for that when the businessmen on their lunch break began to show up.

Patsy opened her phone to scroll through her news feed, deliberately keeping her focus away from her increasingly busy surroundings. She resigned herself to leaving as soon as she finished her drink, she'd find something to do, even if it was just getting some lunch and wandering around a few shops to kill some time.

“Fancy seeing you here.”

Patsy snapped her head up and half twisted in her seat to meet Delia's gaze. “Delia? Hey.”  
  
Delia looked incredibly comfortable in her hoody, hands shoved into her pockets and grinning widely.

“Hello to you too.” Delia greeted brightly, rocking on heels and gesturing behind her with her thumb. “I was just ordering and I looked over and thought, ‘I know that specific shade of red hair.’ I'm really glad I was right.”

“It would have been awkward if it wasn't me.” Patsy agreed.

“That too. But mostly I'm just happy to see you again.” She gestured to the empty seat opposite Patsy. “Can I? It's super busy so my drink won't be ready for a while.”

“Go ahead.”

Delia grinned and fell into the seat, dropping her bag down and throwing her head back to let out a relieved sigh.

Patsy absolutely was not distracted by her neck. No way.

“Are you not working today?” Delia asked.

Patsy shook her head. “We’re trying out a new system, Trixie and Tony are in charge today, they said it wasn't healthy that I worked alone all the time.”

“Wait, you ran the shop alone?”

“Pretty much.”

Delia looked impressed. “That must take a lot of work, are you glad to have the time off?”

Patsy shrugged. “I'm not sure what to do with myself to be honest, Tony says to get a hobby.”

“And Tony is….?”

“Best friend, self appointed thorn in my side. But I wouldn't trade him for anything. Same goes for Trixie. I don't know how they put up with me.”

“Because you're wonderful, that's why.” She gestured to Patsy. “I love the jumper, by the way. You look very cosy.”

Patsy looked down at the table and smiled. “Thank you.” She cleared her throat and forced herself to meet Delia's gaze. “So what do you do? I feel as though all I know about you is that you have an affinity for brightly coloured shoes.”

“And that I have a habit of getting lost?”

“That too.” Patsy agreed.   
  
Delia laughed. “I don’t think i’ll ever know my way around London.”   
  
“Have you lived here long? What do you do?” Patsy asked.

“A few years, i came here to study.” Delia leaned forward and rested her chin in the palm of her hand. “I’m a nurse, well, still training technically.”  
  
Patsy sipped her coffee and nodded. “Have you chosen what field you want to specialise in yet?”   
  
She noticed how Delia’s eyes seemed to light up at her question.

“Not yet, it’s hard because there are always going to be pros and cons to whichever path i choose, i just want to make sure that i choose the one that i can do the most good in.”  
  
“You should also choose to do what makes you happiest.” Patsy pointed out.   
  
Delia seemed to consider Patsy’s words for a few moments before smiling softly. “Words to live by.” She agreed softly.

“Delia?” One of the baristas called.  
  
“Ah cripes, i’ll be right back.” Delia winked. She was out of her seat and across the room before Patsy could even form a response.   
  
It was only with her sudden absence did Patsy realise that in the time she had been talking to Delia, most of the shop had emptied out. Patsy had been oblivious to her surroundings and she had Delia to thank for that.   
  
As Delia made her way back, Patsy watched as she took a sip from her drink and immediately grimaced.

“Too hot?”

“Way too hot.” Delia hovered by the table, looking incredibly conflicted.

“Working?” Patsy guessed.

Delia shook her head. “Bedtime. I actually finished a night shift a few hours ago.”

“A few hours? What have you been doing? You should be sleeping!”

Delia gave a lopsided smile. “Is that concern I hear?”

“Hmph. Maybe.” Patsy relented. “Honestly I don't know how you're still standing right now.”   
  
She remembered what it was like to work a night shift, how hard it was to sleep when the rest of the world seemed so awake. 

“I stopped by the gym, the adrenaline is starting to wear off though.” Delia shrugged. “I'm pretty much ready to go and pass out for several hours.”

Patsy was still trying to shake the image of Delia at the gym. All hot and sweaty.  
  
It was a _really_ good image.

“Either way…” Patsy cleared her throat. “Please get some rest, i don’t want you to get sick because you spent too much time talking to me.”  
  
Delia laughed. “You’re sweet. Patsy, it was really nice talking to you.”   
  
Patsy nodded. “You too.”   
  
Delia mimicked her nod and began to walk past, pausing to squeeze Patsy’s shoulder gently. “I hope you have a good rest of your day. Don’t read too much into trying to find a hobby. Just do whatever you want to do.”   
  
Even long after Delia left, Patsy could still feel her touch on her shoulder, her seemingly endless supply of energy surrounding her.   
  
Patsy almost wanted to call Trixie, hell even Tony, and tell them about the encounter. It was only knowing that they would read into it too much that held her back.   
  
She didn’t want them to get her hopes up.

  
  


“Hey Patsy!” Tony greeted brightly, leaning over the counter. “How was your day off, sweet?”

“Good. It was good.” Patsy nodded.   
  
Trixie narrowed her eyes and walked over to her. “Are you okay? You seem kind of… Buzzed?”   
  
“I may have drank five coffees.”

“May have?”  
  
“May have definitely drank five coffees.” Patsy amended. “I honestly didn’t know what to do with myself so i just went to Costa.” She shoved her hands into her coat pockets and sighed. “How were things here?”   
  
“Pretty good.” Tony grinned. “There was an incident with some ribbon, but it’s all good.”   
  
“Wait what?”   
  
Tony waved a hand dismissively. “It was a whole thing.”   
  
Patsy had to accept the fact that she wasn’t going to hear what happened. But as far as she could tell, the store was fine, there hadn’t been any accidents and Trixie and Tony seemed fine.   
  
They’d even cleaned.   
  
It might be the imminent caffeine crash or the residual high from her meeting with Delia, but for once, Patsy didn’t care.

Well, she did. But not to the point where she was going to demand an hour by hour report of the day. She trusted them.

“Do you guys need help closing up?” Patsy asked.   
  
“Nope!” Trixie placed her hands on Patsy’s shoulders and turned to steer her towards the door. “We can handle this, you’re going to go and relax. Maybe drink some water? Definitely take a nap.”   
  
“Yeah, we can handle this, we’ll be up as soon as we’ve closed.” Tony added.   
  
Before Trixie could get Patsy out of the shop, someone pushed open the door and stepped through. Patsy froze and Trixie collided with her back (it was only a little bit hilarious).   
  
Patsy spent a moment wondering why a teenage boy would want to be in a flower shop when a conversation from a few days ago came back to the front of her mind.   
  
“Oh, hey? My mom told me to come here?”   
  
“Timothy, right?”   
  
The boy grimaced. “Tim. At least now i know i’ve definitely got the right place.”   
  
Trixie laughed and draped her arm over Patsy’s shoulder. “Okay then Tim, how do you feel about a cup of tea? Tony?”   
  
“On it.” Tony saluted.   
  
“Is this a job interview?” Tim asked.

Tim seemed to be a little nervous, so Patsy made a point of smiling encouragingly. “If it helps the closest thing i’ve ever done to conducting a job interview was when these two invited me to Tony’s flat and then hired themselves so this is new territory for me too.”

Tim smiled and slipped his bag off of his shoulder. “You hired yourself?” He asked Trixie.  
  
“In a sense. Though i’m still waiting on my thank you note.” She winked at Patsy, Patsy rolled her eyes and pushed her friend away.   
  
“When Tony gets back with our drinks, we’ll have a chat, deal?”   
  
“Definitely.”   
  


  
“So Tim.” Tony began, his tone serious as he dunked his pink wafer into his tea. “How do you feel about flowers?”   
  
“They’re okay?”   
  
“Can you ride a bike?” Trixie asked.   
  
Tony gestured out of the window to where a bike was chained up outside.

“Why do you want this job?” Patsy asked.   
  
Tim shrugged and took a long sip of his tea. “I think my mom told you that i usually help out at my dad's surgery, but i think it’ll look better on my future uni applications if i’ve branched out and worked elsewhere and for someone who isn’t actually family. Besides, this would double as work and exercise.” 

Patsy shared a look with Tony and Trixie, it wasn’t exactly as if it was a question of whether or not they were going to hire him. But the approving looks were encouraging, regardless.  
  
“Well Tim, you’re hired.”   
  
Tim stared at them all and scratched the side of his head. “Seriously?”   
  
“None of us really know what we’re doing.” Tony said. “We’re kind of making this entire thing up as we go along.”   
  
Patsy hated the fact that he was right, she’d had it all planned out in her head that she was going to prepare actual questions for the interview, take it all seriously and feel all responsible.   
  
“So now that we have a delivery boy, we should probably actually work on getting deliveries?” Tony suggested.   
  
“That would probably help.” Patsy agreed. “Tim, we can figure out what hours would suit you best, you’re doing your GSCE’s right?”   
  
Tim nodded.   
  
“How about you come by on Saturday and then we’ll go from there?” Patsy said. "As long as you working for us won't affect your schoolwork it won't be a problem."   
  
At least then it would then give them a chance to get deliveries. Patsy didn’t expect for them to get a delivery boy so soon.   
  
All in all it had been a pretty weird few days.   
  
It was actually rather amazing.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope everyone has a fun week!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Justimpolite is 100% to thank for coming up with the greatest pun ever 
> 
> This also got a lot longer than i expected so oops

  
  
Once Patsy had made her morning coffee, it was a case of going around her flat and watering her plants.

She pulled her dressing gown tighter around herself and made her way over to the living room. Patsy had been growing petunias in a window box and they were just starting to come through nicely, though her attention was quickly drawn to the moving vans across the road.

Patsy could only assume that she’d be meeting the owner of Gilbert’s sweet emporium sooner rather than later. Honestly, she’d probably go over herself at some point. If their apartment was anything like Patsy’s was, they’d definitely need help figuring out how to get the heating to work.  
  
(To be honest, Patsy still struggled. It was why she owned so many comfy jumpers)

She made herself some breakfast and settled back down at her kitchen table. It felt ridiculously early, even for her standards, though she knew Tony would be by soon.  
  


  
“Patsy, i love you and i love this shop, but i swear i am going to rip that bell off of the door.” Tony yelled from inside the shop.   
  
“The bell is important!” Patsy protested. “I kind of need it to hear when people come in just in case i’m in the back?”   
  
Tony rolled his eyes and walked around the counter. “Well i’m at least propping the bloody door open until we’ve finished getting the displays out.”   
  
“Can't argue with that.” Patsy replied.

 

With Tony's help, Patsy actually managed to get the shop open ten minutes earlier than usual.

Meaning that by shortly after nine, they were sat side by side watching the people carrying equipment and furniture into the shop across the street.

“Still coming to the pub on Thursday?” Tony asked.

“Do I have to?”

“It's pub quiz! We need you!” Tony exclaimed. “Without you it's just me and Trixie and two people don't really count as a team, you know?”

Patsy sighed. “Friday is going to be really busy though.”

It was when most people came to buy flowers for Mother's Day, though she always had plenty of panicked people come to her on Saturday, and even on Sundays.

The whole weekend was bad enough as it is, she didn't want to go into it fighting a hangover.

But pub quiz night was somewhat of a tradition between her, Trixie and Tony. She felt a knot of guilt at thinking about cancelling it.

Tony was also pulling the puppy dog eye routine.

“Fine. Fine!” Patsy threw a rose at him. “I’ll come to the stupid pub so we can continue our losing streak.”  
  
Tony grabbed the rose and beamed, even going so far as to lean over to kiss the side of Patsy’s head. “God bless you, you beautiful angel.”

Patsy leaned against his shoulder and sighed. “You are a strange one, Anthony Amos.”  
  
She could almost hear his smile. “Why thank you Patience Mount.”

  


After a few hours of very few customers, Tony had sent Patsy out on her lunch break, just so that they could kill some time.   
  
Slow days were always the worst, there was only so much that could be done and with the added help she’d been getting from Trixie and Tony, there had been even less to keep up with.   
  
Patsy didn’t see the point in finding somewhere to buy lunch when she literally lived above her shop. It was just easier (and considerably more comfortable than going out into the cold) to make some lunch and stay in her own flat.

It was actually kind of peaceful until Tony all but kicked down her front door ten minutes later, a confused and concerned looking brunette trailing in behind him.

“Patsy this is Barbara Gilbert and she needs our help.” Tony announced.   
  
It took a solid minute or two for Patsy to finish choking on her sandwich before Tony’s words registered with her.

“Barbara Gilbert?” Patsy repeated. “As in-”  
  
“Gilbert’s sweet emporium. Hello yes.” Barbara took a step forward as if to offer a handshake before hesitating. “Oh, should i take my shoes off? Or maybe not barge into your flat?”   
  
They both turned their attention to Tony, who dropped dramatically onto her sofa.   
  
“It’s fine.” Patsy replied. She got up to accept Barbara’s handshake. “It’s lovely to meet you. It’s great to finally put a face to the name.”

Barbara looked relieved. “Oh you’re nice. I’m so glad you’re nice. Everything has been so stressful and one disaster after another and I've finally gotten my stuff moved in and i went to make myself a cup of tea but i realised my milk has gone off.”  
  
“Which is why we need to help!” Tony called, slamming his hand down on the arm of the sofa. “It is a crime to not have the proper tools for tea.”   
  
“Tony, are you forgetting something?” Patsy asked.   
  
Tony raised an eyebrow at her. “No?”   
  
Patsy pointedly looked at the front door.   
  
Tony followed her gaze. “Oh fuck, the shop!”   
  
He bolted out of the room. Barbara still looked incredibly confused by the whole situation.

“I was going to offer him some sweets but I'm worried what he'd be like hyper.” Barbara said. She followed Patsy into the kitchen and smiled brightly at the carton of milk Patsy handed to her and reached into her bag to pull out a jar of sweets. “How do you feel about rhubarb and custards?”

“I think you might have just become one of my favourite people.” Patsy replied. “I have to get back downstairs but if there's anything you need you know where to find me.”

“Is it because I'm giving you a jar of sweets?”

“They definitely… Sweetened the deal.”

Patsy blinked. She made a pun, she actually made a pun. Tony would never let her live it down if he ever found out.

Barbara beamed. “Oh my god, thank you so much.”

  


* * *

  
  


“When does the sweet shop actually open then?” Trixie asked.

Patsy stepped out of her bedroom and adjusted her shirt. “Next week? Barbara had to go back to Liverpool to grab the rest of her stuff, see her dad, things like that. You'd like her, she seems like an other enthusiastic puppy. How does this shirt look? Am I too under dressed?”

Trixie looked her up and down. “Patsy, we’re going to the pub. You look fine.” She got up and fixed Patsy’s collar. “But look at you, making friends!”

Patsy tried to glare, but Trixie's grin was infectious.

“I'm also really loving the flannel.” Trixie added. “Are you ready?”

“I guess.” Patsy grabbed her coat. “Let's get this over with.”

Trixie looped her arm through Patsy’s. “There's no need to make going out sound like a death sentence.”

  


Tony pointed discreetly to the table in far corner of the room. “They're the competition.”

“Honey, this is a pub quiz. They're all competition.” Trixie replied.

“Okay but they're _specifically_ the competition. They're assholes.”

Patsy studied the small group of men and sipped at her wine. “Isn't that guy a reverend?”

“Yes and they have beaten us every single time but not today!” He drank his pint in one go. “Tonight the three muskaqueers shall reign victorious!”

Trixie almost spat orange juice over them both.

“I do have to admit, that is some clever wordplay.” Patsy acknowledged.

“Exactly and with a name like that we can't lose.” Tony beamed. He pulled off his jumper and rolled up his sleeves. “We've got this.”

Trixie shared a smile with Patsy and settled back into her seat, turning her head to take in the other people in the pub.

Tony was in the middle of explaining battle tactics to Patsy when she heard Trixie gasp and a moment later, grabbed her by the wrist.

“Patsy! Nine o’clock, it's your cute Welsh girl.

Patsy followed Trixie's gaze to the bar, and surely enough, Delia was there. Holding a glass and looking around for somewhere to sit.

“How does this keep happening?” Patsy asked herself quietly.

“What?”

“Nothing!” She raised a hand in greeting when Delia caught her gaze. “Everything is fine and I am not at all panicking.”

“She said, panickingly.” Tony murmured from behind his pint.

“Shut up- Delia! Hey.” Patsy turned her attention from Tony to smile up at Delia.

“We have got to stop meeting like this.” Delia replied, laughing.

Patsy laughed. “It is definitely becoming a strange coincidence.”

“Are you meeting someone?” Trixie asked.

“No no, I'm on my lonesome.” Delia peered around the room. “Wasn't expecting the quiz though.”

“You're welcome to join us. We need all the help we can get.”

Delia glanced at Patsy. “I wouldn't want to intrude.”

“Nonsense! We insist!” Trixie replied. She shot a subtle glare in Patsy’s direction, who nodded.

“We’d love the extra company.” Patsy added.

Delia smiled, instead of pulling up a chair to sit beside Trixie, she dropped down into the empty space beside Patsy. Tony immediately leaned over to shake her hand.

“Tony Amos. Pleasure to finally meet you.”

Delia raised an eyebrow as she smirked. “Delia Busby.”

Patsy gestured towards Trixie. “And you've already met Trixie.”

“Good to see you again.”

“Likewise.” Delia turned to Patsy. “So, what's the prize of this quiz?”

“Honour.” Tony spoke up. He took another drink of his pint. “And a free round of drinks and several packets of pork scratchings.”

“He takes this rather seriously.” Patsy whispered to Delia, smiling when the girl giggled.

“And what's the team name?”

“The three muskequeers.” Tony announced.

Delia’s giggles dissolved into laughter as she doubled over. Tony looked incredibly proud of himself. Patsy was in awe.

“That's brilliant!” Delia said once she had recovered enough to speak coherently. “Though I suppose now it's technically four.” She added.

Tony beamed, though his gaze quickly snapped to Fred, the local who was always responsible for hosting the quizzes. “Shit, I'm going to change the name.” He downed the rest of his pint. “And get another drink.”

“I'll join you.” Trixie said, having finished her own drink. “Refill, Patsy?”

“Sure.”

“Delia? Another… vodka and coke?”

“Rum and coke. But I'm fine for now, thank you.”

Tony and Trixie both scurried off, Patsy glanced at Delia and took a long gulp of her wine.

Patsy had never been good at small talk, she never understood its purpose and found that it only seemed to make things more awkward.

But even so, she couldn't help but feel she _had_ to say something, anything, just to bridge the silence between them.

“How's work?” Patsy asked.

“Nightmare, I've got the next few days off though.” Delia twisted so that they were facing each other. “Are you sure you don't mind me being here? I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable, I can leave if you want-”

“I don't want you to leave.” Patsy interrupted, surprising Delia (and herself) “I want you to stay. It'll be fun.”

“Are you sure?”

Patsy nodded. “Absolutely. If I come off as uncomfortable it's only because I'm not used to socialising. Especially not with people who aren't Trixie and Tony.”

Delia considered Patsy’s words for a few moments before smiling down at her hands. “Well. You certainly know how to make a girl feel special.”

Patsy could see Trixie and Tony spying on them from the bar. She could only hope that if she was blushing that it wasn't obvious from a distance.

“Is this a bad time to admit that i’ve never actually done a pub quiz before?” Delia asked. “Maybe don’t tell Tony that. I don’t want to crush his hopes.”

Patsy eyed the man coming back to them, Trixie in tow and leaned closer to Delia. “I won’t tell if you won’t.” She whispered.  
  
Trixie and Tony reached their table and set their drinks down onto the table.   
  
“So ladies, what were we talking about?” Tony asked.   
  
“The pros and cons of working in A&E.” Patsy replied.   
  
Delia took the handoff seamlessly. “It’s amazing how many people end up there purely by playing truth or dare.”  
  
Tony laughed loudly. “Oh i’m sure that between the two of you, you’d able to keep us entertained with hospital stories.”   
  
Patsy could see Delia flash her a quizzical look, but before anything else could be asked, Fred cut them off by tapping a fork against his pint glass.   
  
“Alright everyone? Let’s get this started shall we?”   
  
  
  
Patsy was amazed at how effortlessly charming Delia could be. It only took a few minutes for her to have Tony doubled over with her puns and she easily won Trixie over with her taste in music. Patsy couldn’t help but hang on every word, so much so that there were a few moments that she forgot that they were even in the middle of a quiz.

“What is the name of the star closest to the north celestial pole?” Fred asked.

“The North star?” Tony said quietly, looking to the group.  
  
“Polaris.” Patsy corrected. “It’s the star you use to find true north.”  
  
“Nice.” Tony scribbled down the answer. “God i really want to win.”   
  
“With Delia’s well of knowledge in regards to nineties pop culture, i think we’re pretty well rounded this time Tony.” Trixie replied encouragingly.   
  
“Final question now!” Fred grinned. He stared at the sheet of paper in his hand for a long moment. “Um.” He scratched the side of his head, looking utterly confused. “In the 1996 movie Space Jam, what does Charles Barkley promise God so he can get his powers back?”   
  
Delia slammed her hand down onto the table with enough force to startle Patsy, Trixie and Tony. They all looked to her expectantly.   
  
“To never go out with Madonna again.” She said.   
  
There wasn’t even a trace of hesitation in her voice. Her gaze even made Patsy think that she had waited her entire life for the sole purpose of answering this very question.   
  
“How in the actual hell do you know that?” Tony asked incredulously.   
  
“That was such a specific question.” Trixie murmured   
  
“Because Space Jam is one of the greatest movies to have ever existed and i will not apologise for appreciating it’s art.” Delia replied.   
  
Tony repeated Delia’s answer to himself as he wrote it down, setting down his pen and looking at their sheet of answers. He leaned over to Patsy.   
  
“If you don’t marry her i will.” He whispered.

  


Being inside a pub with a large group of people for quite a few hours (with a few glasses of wine thrown in for good measure) meant that by the time Patsy snuck out into the beer garden for a cigarette, she had forgotten how cold it got at night.

Patsy huddled alone on a bench, giving herself a wide berth from the group of men laughing together.

“Tony is cherishing those pork scratchings as though they're a trophy.” Delia said, she sat down beside Patsy.

“He's wanted to win that quiz since we started taking part.” Patsy took a drag of her cigarette. “...Five months ago. We won by one point.”

“Thank you Space Jam.” Delia beamed.

“It’s you we should be thanking, Delia.” Patsy replied. “I'm almost afraid to admit that I've never seen it though.”

Delia looked horrified. “Oh my god. Patsy! How? How is that possible?”

“Is it that good?”

“It's amazing. I actually want to watch it tonight now…” Delia hummed thoughtfully. “Yeah that might happen.”

Patsy’s cheeks ached with how much she smiled when Delia was around.

“Hey Patsy.”

“Yes?”

“Before the quiz started, when Tony and Trixie came back from the bar and you said we'd been talking about A&E stories, he said that between us we'd have plenty of stories? What did he mean by that?”

Patsy took another drag of her cigarette and exhaled the smoke slowly, debating on how much to say.

“Patsy, did you used to be a nurse?” Delia asked gently.

Patsy nodded. “Trainee, like you. But yeah, I did.”   
  
“How'd you end up becoming a florist?”

“Long story short? I dropped out before I could graduate, I was lucky enough to get a job at a small shop out in Chelsea, learned the trade and eventually got the chance to open my own shop.” Patsy explained.

Delia nodded, it was clear that she knew there was far more to Patsy’s story, but she didn't make any attempt to pry.

“Do what makes you happy.” Delia said, repeating Patsy’s own words from the last time they met.

Patsy couldn't help but smile. There was just something infinitely trustworthy about Delia.

As nice as it was, it also scared her.

Desperate to move the conversation away from any mention of her past, Patsy focused her attention back on Delia.

“You mentioned having the next few days off. Anything exciting planned?”

Delia smiled. “Going back home to visit my parents, mam would never let me live it down if I didn't come to spend Mother's Day with her.”

“That sounds wonderful.”

“What about you?”

Ah. Fuck.

“My mother died. Quite a few years ago.” Patsy replied. “As did my sister.” She added.

She could pick out every emotion that flickered over Delia's face, but it was the shock and subsequent sympathy that stood out the most. The hand that covered Patsy’s own, even more so.

“Shit, Patsy, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have pried.”

“Don't be, you didn't know.”

Delia squeezed her hand. “Either way, I'm sorry.”

Patsy nodded softly. She let the moment hang for as long as she could bear before she cleared her throat.

“We should get back before Tony sends out a search party.”

Delia smiled in a way that said she could see through Patsy’s excuse but stood up regardless. “Another round of drinks?”

“That sounds like a plan.”  
  
  


“Thank you for letting me join you guys tonight.” Delia said.

They were all huddled together outside the front of the pub, waiting for Trixie and Delia's taxis, respectively.

“Thank _you_ for helping us to win.” Tony replied, hugging her with such ease, anybody would have thought they'd been friends for years, though she knew that was down to both of their easygoing and loving personalities. “I hope you'll join us next time, help keep our winning streak.”

“I’d love to!”

As the two started talking, Trixie carefully shifted so that her and Patsy were a couple of feet away.

“She's nice.”

“Yes, she is.” Patsy agreed.

“And you seemed to enjoy yourself.”

“Trixie…”

Trixie held her hands up. “I don't mean it like that. Not necessarily.” She replied softly. Trixie glanced over to Tony and Delia and back to Patsy. “I'm just saying that you seemed more relaxed tonight, instead of your usual itching to go back home.”

“Are you saying that it's because of Delia?”

“I'm saying that I'm glad you had fun tonight, regardless of what, or who, was responsible for that.” Trixie looked over her shoulder as a taxi pulled up beside them. “My carriage awaits.” She stepped closer to Patsy and pressed a quick kiss to both her cheeks.

“Goodnight Trixie.” Patsy called after her.

Trixie waved, pausing to kiss Tony. “Make sure you all get home safely. I'll see you both tomorrow.”

She turned to Delia. “It was wonderful to meet you.”

Delia beamed. “You too.”

Trixie’s taxi had barely turned the corner before another pulled up beside them.   
  
“I guess this is me.” Delia said. “Thank you again for tonight.”   
  
“It was our pleasure.” Patsy replied.   
  
“Honestly, Delia, you know where to find us if you want to hang out again.” Tony grinned, he slung his arm over Patsy’s shoulder. “I know a great club we can check out.”

  
  
“I think i’m going to have a hangover tomorrow.” Tony groaned, gracelessly throwing himself down onto the sofa. “This is inconvenient.”   
  
Patsy made a sound of agreement as she pulled off her shoes. “This is why i didn’t want to come tonight.”   
  
“But you did, and you had fun!”

Patsy moved his legs and sat down beside him on the sofa. “I did.” She admitted quietly. “I really did.” She glanced at the clock and blanched. “God, i need to get some sleep. You know where the spare blankets and everything are.”  
  
“You are a lifesaver, Patience Mount.” Tony sighed.

“On that note then, i’m going to go to bed.” Patsy stood up.   
  
“Do you think you had more fun because Delia was there?” Tony asked as Patsy reached her room.   
  
“Tony, i honestly don’t know.” Patsy replied quietly. “I kind of wish you hadn’t put that thought into my head though.”  
  
  
  


* * *

 

 

“Why do the flowers look so bright?” Tony asked.  
  
“Because you’re hungover.” Trixie supplied brightly, breezing past him with a bouquet of flowers.   
  
They’d been busy from the moment they’d opened. Patsy had always knew that the build up to Mother’s day would be busy, she’d planned for it.   
  
(She’d even made graphs)   
  
And yet she hadn’t planned enough, she was just thankful that she wasn’t attempting to handle it alone. Even though Tony was incredibly hungover and her, slightly less so, they were still powering through. 

“Tony, could you grab more of the lilies from the back?” Patsy asked, ruffling his hair. “Please try to stay conscious until lunch.”

“I’m on it.” He grumbled.   
  
“This is mayhem.” Trixie whispered as she walked around Patsy. “I knew you said it would be but oh my god.”   
  
Patsy managed a frantic nod, she heard the bell chime and took a deep breath, ready to start her default welcoming speech.

“Delia!”  
  
Delia stood in the doorway, a huge rucksack balanced on one shoulder. “Hey, are you guys too busy or do you have a minute to spare?”   
  
Patsy glanced over at Trixie, who made a quick gesture urging her to go.   
  
“Pretty sure Trixie has got things under control here.” 

She gestured for Delia to follow her outside and breathed a small sigh of relief as the fresh air hit her.

“You're quite the trooper, going from a night of drinking to work the next morning.” Delia laughed.

“Oh you should see Tony, he stayed with me last night and he's considerably worse off.” Patsy’s gaze drifted to Delia's bag. “Heading off then?”

Delia hummed. “I get to have the joy of a six hour train journey.”

She definitely didn't look thrilled about the prospect.

“Ouch, I certainly hope you've got entertainment planned.”

“The train has free wifi, I have Netflix and a packed lunch, I'll be fine.” She slung her bag off of her shoulder and opened it up. “I figured I'd make a quick detour to give you this.”

Patsy took the hastily wrapped package and frowned. “What is it?”

“It's a surprise. But only open it if you need cheering up.”

Patsy had to wonder how Delia was made up entirely out of good intentions and all around charm.

“You're something else, you know that right?” Patsy asked.

Delia grinned. “I should hope so! One of a kind, me.”

Well, wasn’t that the truth.

“Thank you Delia, this is really kind of you. I only wish I had a gift for you too.”

“Your smile is the only gift I need.” Delia winked.

Patsy was saved from her floundering to find words to respond by Delia checking her watch and cursing.

“I wish I could stay longer but I really need to get to the station.” She threw her bag back into her shoulders. “Have a good weekend Patsy, make sure you take breaks and don't forget what I said!”

  


* * *

 

   
  
“Let it be known that i love my mother dearly but this day needs to burn.” Tony groaned. “I never want to see a flower again.”   
  
“Well it’s a good thing you don’t work in a flower shop then, isn’t it?” Trixie asked, making a point of adjusting the bouquet of lilies beside him.   
  
Patsy slumped against Tony’s side and sighed. It was a good thing that she had a delivery expected on Monday.   
  
It was only Saturday afternoon and her shop looked like they had been hit by a storm. She just had to hope that they had enough stock to get them through until she closed on Sunday.   
  
“I’m going to clean.” Patsy announced.   
  
“Have you opened the gift Delia gave you yet?” Trixie asked.   
  
“I am under strict instructions to only open it when i need to be cheered up. I’ve been too stressed to feel unhappy.” Patsy explained.   
  
Tim walked into the shop, pulling off his helmet and running a hand through his hair. “Hey hey all.” He greeted.   
  
“Want a cup of tea?” Trixie asked.

“Yes, please. Definitely.” Tim replied. “Anything else i can do to help?” He eyed Patsy pulling out the mop bucket from her cleaning cupboard.   
  
“You’ve been doing deliveries all day, Tim.” Patsy said.   
  
“Patsy takes cleaning very seriously.” Tony whispered.   
  
“You can’t treat hygiene like a joke, Tony. Tidy shop, tidy mind.”   
  
Tony’s laughter followed him out of the shop as he pulled out his packet of cigarettes while Trixie disappeared to make tea. Patsy spent a few moments planning out how she was going to clean the shop. There wouldn't be a point in mopping the floors until they were closed, the last thing she needed was a customer slipping and breaking something.

“Who’s working tomorrow?” Tim asked.   
  
“Just me.” Patsy replied, turning back to the teen. “I don’t want to keep Trixie and Tony from their mothers.”   
  
Tim nodded.   
  
“Plus i have those two bouquets you asked for, they’re in the back.”   
  
“How much are they?”   
  
Patsy waved her hand. “Don’t worry about it.”   
  
“Are you sure?”   
  
“Of course i am. Honestly Tim, you don’t need to pay. Just be sure to have a good day tomorrow.”   
  
Tim smiled. “I will.” He rolled up his sleeves. “Now, what can i do to help?”   
  
  
  


* * *

 

  
  
There are a handful of days in the year that Patsy can’t bear, for various reasons. Her mother and sister's birthdays, and the day they died are obvious, as are all major holidays.   
  
(Christmas has gotten easier with Tony and Trixie around, bless their souls)   
  
But Mother’s Day remains to be one of the days she hasn’t quite figured out how to navigate.

It’s not that she hadn’t tried. If she could, Patsy would lock herself in her flat with a few bottles of wine and drown her sorrows all day, but the crushing guilt she feels when she wakes up on Sunday morning is enough to drive her into making the trip to the cemetery, flowers in hand, while the rest of the city still struggles to wake.

Cemeteries can be beautiful and poignant places, quiet and almost separate from reality. There had been many times when Patsy has found herself making her way to her mother and sister's grave in hopes of finding some clarity when she gets too stressed.

So long as she didn’t think too deeply about the fact that there are hundreds of bodies six feet below her at any given time, she’s fine.

Even now, despite how early it is, Patsy can see people milling about, laying flowers at graves. It’s almost comforting.

Right up until she spotted a familiar figure walking just ahead of her.

“Tim?” She called out.

The teen started and turned to face her. “Patsy?” He asked, confused. “What are you doing here?”  
  
Patsy gestured to the flowers in her hand. “Visiting my mother, you?”   
  
“Same.”   
  
Patsy’s face must reflect the confusion she felt inside as Tim quickly scrambled to clarify.   
  
“My birth mom, she uh, died when i was about five? Shelagh is my step mom, i wanted to come out here though so i could give my love. Mom, Dad and Angela won’t be up for another hour anyway.”   
  
“I think that’s a wonderfully sweet thing to do, Tim.”   
  
Tim looked a little flustered at Patsy’s words and cleared his throat awkwardly. “You mom died too?”   
  
“Yes, quite a few years ago now. As did my sister.”   
  
“What about your dad?”   
  
“We’re… Not close.”   
  
Tim nodded in understanding and didn’t press for more details. “Do you have much family?”   
  
Patsy could see her mother and sister’s grave approaching and she shook her head. “No, i don’t.” She forced herself to smile, if not to put Tim at ease. “But i have my friends, and that’s enough.”   
  
All two of them. Though maybe she could include Delia and possible Barbara (eventually) into that list.   
  
So, two and a half? Two and three quarters? Friendship was a strange thing.

They slowed to a stop and Patsy gestured to her right. “This is me.”  
  
“Do you want me to come with?” Tim asked.

God, he was such a sweet kid.

“I’ll be okay, thank you Tim. What about you?”  
  
Tim smiled. “I’m fine. I’ll see you tomorrow?”   
  
“Of course.”   
  
She watched him walk away and walked over to her mother’s grave, crouching down to brush some stray leaves from her sister's grave before placing the flowers onto her mother’s.   
  
“Sorry it’s been so long.” Patsy apologised. “Happy Mother’s Day.”   
  


 

“Tony, i’m fine, i promise” Patsy sighed. “I’m just settling in for the night.”  
  
She could hear Tony’s hum of disbelief over the phone.   
  
_“It’s five in the afternoon.”_ _  
_   
Patsy poured herself a glass of wine. “Yes and it’s Sunday. It’s a day of rest, Tony, it’s what God would want.”

_“If you say so.”_   
  
“I’ve already had Trixie call to check up on me.”   
  
She’d already promised to come over as soon as she could, despite Patsy’s insistence that she was fine.

_“I know. I spoke to her. I’ll be over around nine, okay? Trixie is bringing the movies, i’m bringing snacks.”_ _  
_ _  
_ “Tony, you don’t have to.”   
  
_“I know, but i want to spend Sunday night curled under a blanket with my two favourite ladies as we watch whatever romantic classic Trixie chooses for us.”_ _  
_   
Patsy had to agree, it was tempting, and comforting.

“In that case, i guess i’ll see you in a few hours.”

Tony made a series of kissing sounds followed by a quick goodbye and Patsy was soon left wondering what she was going to do with herself until her friends showed up.

She glanced over to her coffee table, where Delia’s gift to her sat untouched since Friday morning.

Well, Patsy could definitely do with cheering up.

As much as she tried to push the feelings back, she was feeling the ache left behind from her mother and sister's death more than ever, even though she insisted that she was fine.

Patsy set her wine to one side and leaned forward to pick it up, tearing off the paper easily and immediately bursting into laughter.

It was a copy of Space Jam. Delia hadn’t been kidding when she said that Patsy had to watch it.  
  
As Patsy opened the DVD, a slip of paper with messy writing scribbled onto it fell into her lap.  
  
_Patsy!_ _  
_ _I hope you enjoy the_ **_best_ ** _movie ever made. Tell me your thoughts!_ _  
_ _Delia_ _  
_   
Underneath her name was a phone number.

Patsy spent several minutes trying to decide what to do, whether to text Delia, what she would say. She hit play on the remote and typed Delia’s number into her phone.

_To Delia:_ _  
_ _Hey, it’s Patsy, how’s home?_

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my personal life is slowly falling apart at the edges and i also brought a new video game BUT the next chapter should be done by next week? In theory  
> ANYWAY i love you all, thank you for reading and stay safe


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How is everyone doing? I hope you're all having a good week!

 

“Good morning sunshine.” Tony sang, striding into the shop with Trixie in tow.  
  
Patsy frowned over her phone at him. “Somebody seems cheerful.”  
  
“We stopped by a bakery on the way over.” Trixie explained. “Tony has discovered cinnamon rolls.”  
  
“I brought you one, you need to experience this.” Tony added, setting the small paper bag on the counter.

Patsy set her phone to the side and took a brief look at the treat. “If I eat that much sugar now I’ll end up with one hell of a headache. Though speaking of sugar, I’m glad you’re both here.”  
  
Tony made himself comfortable on the seat beside Patsy. “Oh?”  
  
“It’s Barbara’s grand opening today, now that you’re here I can take some flowers over as a kind of good luck gift.”  
  
Tony cooed. “You’re a sweetheart.”

“I’m just doing a nice thing.”  
  
Tony rolled his eyes and waved her off. “Go, say hi to your new neighbour. We’ll hold the fort.”  
  
“I’m coming too.” Trixie said. “I love meeting new people.”  
  


Once Patsy had put together a bouquet, Trixie followed her out of the shop and across the street.

Even from outside, Barbara's shop looked like a rainbow filled sugar trip, but it was nothing compared to actually being inside.

Jars of sweets filled every shelf, Patsy was certain she had never seen so much sugar in her entire life.

“It's like something straight out of Willy Wonka.” Trixie murmured in awe. She turned to Patsy. “I genuinely feel like I've walked into a children's book.”

Patsy nodded in agreement. There had to be every type of sweet she could think of. Even stuff from her childhood that Patsy hadn't realised was still in production.

The shop would do well, that much Patsy was certain of. It had the bright wonder that would bring in children and a sense of nostalgia that would draw adults looking to relive their own childhoods.

Barbara walked out of what Patsy assumed was her storage room and visibly startled at seeing Patsy and Trixie.

“Oh God, you scared me!”

“Sorry.” Patsy laughed and handed her the flowers. “Here, congratulations on opening.”

“Thank you so much Patsy, they'll make my flat feel so much more homey.”

Barbara's gaze drifted to Patsy’s side and it was that moment Patsy realised that Trixie had been silent for a considerable amount of time.

Patsy looked between the two women, noting Trixie’s intense stare and Barbara's vague look of awe.

(Trixie tended to have that effect on people.)

“Barbara, this is my friend Trixie, she works with me.” Patsy introduced.

Trixie seemed to come out of whatever trance she was in and smiled, stepping forward and offering her hand to Barbara.  
  
“It’s wonderful to meet you and that dress is simply gorgeous, where did you get it?” Trixie asked.  
  
Barbara’s bright smile was infectious. “Oh! I made it myself, actually.”  
  
“That’s darling, it’s such a wonderful colour.”

“Ah, t-thank you, it’s nothing compared to your dress though-”  
  
“Nonsense, do you make all of your dresses? I’d love to see them.”  
  
Patsy felt as though if she were to leave, neither woman would notice. She had half a mind to just go back to her own shop.  
  
Though it was nice to see the two women talk so easily, watching Trixie smile as Barbara told her a story from her childhood, hands gesturing wildly.  
  
“And after that incident, it just started to become a hobby.” Barbara finished with a shrug.

A group of teenagers walked into the shop, effectively putting an end to their conversation. Patsy could tell that Trixie seemed disappointed.

“We should probably let you get back to work.” Patsy said. “Though if you ever find yourself in need of some company you know where to find us.”  
  
“We could all go for a meal, help you get to know the area better.” Trixie added.  
  
“I’d really like that, thank you. Barbara replied.  
  


“Was that flirting I saw?” Patsy asked as they left the shop.  
  
She was so used to being on the receiving end of the teasing that she couldn’t help but jump at the chance to throw out some of her own.  
  
“It may have been.” Trixie replied. They stopped at the edge of the road as they waited for it to be safe to cross. “Why, do you want tips for the next time Delia texts you?”  
  
Any and all jokes Patsy had planned dissolved on the tip of her tongue.

When Trixie and Tony had showed up on Mother’s day, they had quickly caught onto Patsy’s not so subtle texting to the woman, though neither of them had mentioned it at the time.  
  
(Patsy assumed it was because it had been an emotionally taxing day for her, Trixie and Tony were nothing if not incredibly understanding)

Apparently everything was back to normal.  
  
“You’re deflecting.” Patsy pointed out.  
  
Once they crossed the street, Trixie gave her a bright eyed grin.  
  
“So are you.”  
  
Well, she certainly had her there.

They walked into the shop, Tony brightened up considerably. “What's the shop like? How's Barbara?”

“Splendid.” Patsy replied. “We’ll most likely all be going out for dinner together soon. Have we had any customers?”

“A couple, there was one particularly stressed bride to be who called to enquire about our services and if we would be able to supply flowers for her wedding next week, she’ll be stopping by at four.” Tony said.

“Next week?” Trixie repeated disbelievingly.   
  
Tony hummed. “Apparently there was a 'situation' with her previous florist and now she has no flowers for her wedding.”  
  
“Poor thing.” Trixie sighed.  
  
Tony turned to Patsy. “I wrote it all down in your little diary thing.”

“A wedding next week though, It’ll be a lot of hard work.” Patsy frowned. "Can we handle it?"  
  
It would take a hell of a lot of planning to pull it off too, she’d have to call Phyllis as soon as she could to see if she could even help her.

Tony waved a hand, confident as always. “We can handle it.”

“Thank you Tony.” Patsy smiled at him. “Do you want one of those cinnamon rolls you love so much?” she asked.

Tony's face lit up. “You don't want them?”

“I'll try one, but I'm more of a Belgian bun type of girl.”

“Bet you’d rather have a taste of Delia's buns.” Tony replied.

Trixie snorted, not bothering to look up from her phone. Patsy tried her best to splutter out a response but Tony's attention quickly shifted to the blonde.

“And what has you so distracted my dear sweet Beatrix?” Tony asked.

“I'm just adding Barbara on Facebook.” Trixie replied easily. She slipped her phone back into her dress pocket. “Done.”

Patsy was always in awe at Trixie’s forwardness.

She felt her phone vibrate with a text and Patsy tried to be discreet in checking her phone.

There was only three people who would text her, two of them were in the room with her.

(Though Phyllis _had_ texted her once, it had been an accident.)

As she expected, it was from Delia- it was actually a selfie from inside a train, Delia smiling brightly into the camera.

_From, Delia:  
_ _En route home!!_  
  
Delia knew no limit when emojis were concerned, it was painfully adorable.

“And what, pray tell, has Patsy so suddenly distracted?” Tony asked.

Patsy locked her phone. “Nothing!”

Trixie hummed and patted her arm gently. “Tell Delia we said hi.”

Trixie's own phone beeped with a notification, Patsy was willing to make a bet that a certain brunette had just accepted Trixie's friend request.

“Certainly, send Barbara my well wishes.”

Patsy finally felt as though she was slightly better equipped with dealing with the gentle teasing from her friends, knowing that for at least the time being she could deflect to Trixie.

The only difference was that when Patsy tried to tease, she was often met with proud smiles and looks of amusement, whereas when she was the subject of the teasing she felt as though she was on display for all to see.

Tony looked between the two women with utter confusion.

“Am I missing something?”

 

* * *

  
  
  
Being Akela to a group of young cubs had never been on Patsy’s list of goals in life.

(In fact, she had only agreed to start helping in the first place because Sister Julienne had asked her and well, Patsy had a soft spot for the nun)  
  
It had taken a while to get used to, and even longer for Patsy to feel comfortable in the role. But now she feels genuine care for them, the wish to teach each cub as best she can and live up to her title as Akela.  
  
Even if they were generally always hyper and sometimes a challenge to keep control of.

After the final cub ran from the hall, Patsy let herself breathe a sigh of relief. They had spent so long handing out new badges and figuring out what they wanted to strive towards next.

Many of them were keen to learn about making fires, Patsy didn’t think that was the best idea just yet.

Fred clapped Patsy heartily on the back. “Good work kiddo, are you sure you don’t want to try fire safety next week?”  
  
“Definitely not, what if they burn themselves?” Patsy asked.  
  
Patsy knew that she was more than capable of taking care of any injuries that could cross her path, but she would much rather try to avoid those if she could.  
  
Fred hummed and continued stacking chairs. He cast a thoughtful look in her direction. “You lot did well at the quiz last week, that new girl really cinched it for you.”  
  
All it took was the briefest mention of Delia to bring a smile to Patsy’s face. “Tony was so happy to win.”  
  
“Will you all be down this week?”  
  
“Most likely.” Patsy pulled on her coat and fastened it slowly. “Have a good night, Fred!”  
  
Fred saluted at her. “You too.”  
  


It only took five minutes from leaving for Patsy to start thinking about the stress of work again. It never took her long to start thinking about every way the wedding could go wrong, she was being asked to do a lot in such a short period of time and there was just no room for failure.

Patsy pulled her phone out of her pocket and called Trixie before she could work herself up any further, she was thankful that the woman always had her phone at hand.

_“Patsy! To what do I owe the pleasure?”_  
  
“Trix, I think we made a bad decision agreeing to the wedding.”  
  
“Why on Earth do you think that?”

Patsy chewed on the skin of her thumb. “We don’t have time, what if the delivery doesn’t get here in time? What if we don’t have enough flowers?”  
  
Trixie sighed. _“Patsy, you plan everything perfectly, yes we have a smaller schedule than what would be ideal but if anyone can handle it, it’s us.”_

Patsy wished she could have Trixie’s faith.

_“Where are you? Are you at home? Do you want me to come over?”_ _  
_

“No, no, that’s not necessary Trix, I’m just walking home now. I’ll probably get some chips or something for dinner.”  
  
Trixie laughed brightly. Though her follow up sentence was lost to Patsy as she collided with a small yet surprisingly sturdy figure.

“I’m so sorry Holy- Delia?!”  
  
Patsy was surprised at how unsurprised she felt. The universe was absolutely playing some kind of game with her.  

_“Delia?”_ Trixie asked.

Delia beamed up at her. “Hello there, Patsy.” She took a step back to give Patsy some space. “I can definitely say I’ve never been called holy before.”  
  
Patsy couldn’t keep her eyes off of Delia, but she managed to at least focus some of her attention back on the phone in her hand. “Trixie? I’ll call you back later.”  
  
Trixie chuckled. _“Have fun. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t.”_  
  
As Patsy slipped her phone into her coat pocket, she became aware of Delia scrutinising her appearance.  
  
“Patience Mount, are you a cub scout leader?”  
  
Patsy adjusted her cap. “Proud Akela. What are you doing out?”  
  
Delia shrugged. “Just finished work, I’m going to grab some dinner before I go home.”

Patsy nodded and took another step back, fully prepared to say her goodbyes before Delia bridged the space between them.  
  
“Do you want to join me?” Delia asked. “I’m only going to the chippy but… I don’t know, I could use the company, if you want?” She held her hands up. “You absolutely don’t have to, you probably have a hundred other things you’d rather do.”  
  
If left to her own devices, Patsy would just head home, curl onto her sofa and put netflix on. Going anywhere with Delia would be better than that.  
  
“I’d love to.”  
  
  


“Delia, I can safely say that I haven’t eaten chips in the street since I was sixteen and my best friend convinced me to skip school one day.”  
  
It had been entirely Chummy’s idea, as much as Patsy had spent the entire day on the verge of a panic attack at the chance of getting caught, she had genuinely had fun and was thankful that Chummy had talked her into it.

Delia beamed and threw a chip into her mouth. “What can I say? I provide a truly one of a kind dining experience.”  
  
Patsy smiled down at her own bag of chips. Delia was certainly right. She had never expected to be spending her evening sat on a park wall with the younger woman.  
  
“Are you glad to be back in London?” Patsy asked.

Delia sighed dreamily. “Definitely. Don’t get me wrong, I love Pembrokeshire. It’s where I grew up, it’s where my family are but when I’m here… I feel like I can do anything.” She chewed thoughtfully on another chip. “I wish my mam would see it like that though.”

It was the most low-spirited she had ever heard Delia’s voice, Patsy’s fingers itched with a need to comfort her.

“Does she not like that you’re here?” Patsy asked gently.

“She worries.” Delia replied. “She hates London, she doesn’t like that I’m so far away.” Delia met Patsy’s gaze and smiled. “Are you okay? How are things with work?”  
  
Patsy was more than familiar with the art of deflection, she considered herself to be pretty damn good at it and was more than capable of spotting when other people used it and it was clear to her that it was what Delia was doing right now.  
  
“Stressful, in all honesty.”  
  
Delia gave her an encouraging look, urging Patsy to keep talking.

“We were asked to do a wedding last minute and I keep worrying that we won’t be ready, that we won’t have enough flowers or something will go wrong and the wedding will be ruined and now I have to figure out what to do with my cubs because they need to work towards earning some more badges and-”  
  
Delia squeezed Patsy’s hand gently, silencing her rant. “I know you’ll be able to pull it off. You, Trixie and Tony are more than capable of that. Just think about all the good things that can come from the wedding. You’ll be on the map then. As for your cubs, I’m sure you’ll think of something, the weather is starting to pick up so you have a lot more options available to you.”  
  
Delia withdrew her hand slowly and Patsy took a deep breath, suddenly thankful at Delia’s insistence they eat outside. The fresh air certainly helped to calm her down.

(Although Patsy knew that it was entirely Delia’s presence, not the fresh air)  
  
“I just feel like I might have signed up for too much.” Patsy admitted.

“You don’t have to go through anything alone, remember that. You have people around you who want to help and you know you can call me anytime, too. I’ll always be happy to help.”  
  
Patsy shook her head. “You work so hard, I couldn’t ask you to do that.”  
  
“I wouldn’t offer if I didn’t mean it. You have my number. You can use it whenever. Call or text." Delia shrugged. "I like it when we text, Pats.”  
  
Patsy felt her heart skip at the nickname, though she also found that it was getting hard to maintain a stiff upper lip at the seemingly endless supply of kindness Delia had to offer.  
  
Honestly, how did she get so lucky to even have this woman walk into her life?  
  
“Thank you Delia, truly. And thank you for this.” She gestured to their chips. “Thank you for talking to me.”  
  
“We should do it again some time. Hang out with some planning in advance instead of quite literally bumping into each other in the street.”  
  
“I’d like that.”

It was impossible not to smile when Delia smiled up at her, even when Delia stole a chip from her bag.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Will i ever get tired of writing the Patsy/Tony/Trixie dynamic? NOPE also okay this is a smaller chapter and i am sorry but pls trust me on this


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLO HI i'm so sorry, life stuff took priority. I hope you all had a pleasant easter and that life is treating you all well, thank you all for your patience, i hope you enjoy the chapter!

 

From the moment Tim walked in, it was clear that he was excited. There was a certain bounce to his movements and the smile on his face was unfaltering.

Patsy and Trixie were clueless as to what brought on his bright mood (perhaps it was the imminent start of the Easter holiday) but Patsy was happy to leave him to his own devices.

Trixie, however, not as much.

“Tim, honey, what has gotten into you?” She asked gently.  
  
He smiled sheepishly at them across the room, despite Patsy’s protests he had insisted on mopping the floors, forcing them to stay in their places at the counter until the floors were suitably dry.  
  
“I got asked to play at the Easter service on Sunday. My mom is the choir director and their usual pianist is on holiday.”

“Tim, that’s incredible!” Patsy replied. “You’re a boy of many talents aren’t you?  
  
“Also my mom is pregnant.”

Due to his rather blunt delivery, It took a few moments for Tim’s words to register with Patsy, but as soon as they did, floors be damned, she was across the room and pulling the boy into a hug, Trixie hot on her heels.

“That is absolutely wonderful news Tim!” Patsy said.

“Truly brilliant.” Trixie agreed. “You must all be so happy.”

“It was a surprise.” Tim admitted. “But yeah, yeah we’re over the moon.”  
  
Patsy made a note to give Tim some flowers to give to his mother before he left later, she even considered slipping out to find a suitable card.  
  
“You’ll send her our love and congratulations, yes?” Trixie asked.

“Definitely.”  
  
Their phone began to ring and Trixie quickly excused herself to answer it.

Tim saw an opportunity to shift their conversation elsewhere.

“Tony mentioned that you used to be a nurse.”  
  
“Technically i never fully qualified.” Patsy corrected.

Tim nodded, thoughtfully. “That’s cool, I was wondering if you could help me with some of my studies, if you have the time?”  
  
Patsy hadn’t been sure what she had been expecting Tim to ask, but it definitely wasn’t that. “Sure. Of course.”  
  
Patsy could tell from his expression that Tim wanted to ask her why. Why would she quit? Why would she give up saving lives and shift her career entirely to sell flowers?  
  
It was a question she was always expecting to be asked, but also knew that when it inevitably happened, she wouldn’t have the words for it.

She was just thankful that Tim chose not to ask her today. Bless that boy.

“I think we’re in need of a cup of tea.” Tim announced. “Shall i put the kettle on?”  
  
“That would be lovely, Tim, thank you.”

Trixie waited until he was out of sight before sliding over to Patsy’s side.

“Who was on the phone?”  
  
“Customer asking about delivery options, they’ll call back in a little while.” Trixie looked thoughtful.  
  
Patsy felt apprehensive. “What is it?”  
  
“Tim is such a good kid.” Trixie said.  
  
“He is, i think he’ll be a wonderful doctor, if that’s the path he chooses.”  
  
“He certainly doesn’t want for compassion.”

  
  


Patsy was startled out of her sleep by her phone ringing and it took a solid ten seconds for her to realise where she was and what was happening before grabbing the device from her table and answering it.

“Hello?” She grimaced at the roughness of her own voice and cleared her throat. “...Hello?”

_“Patsy!”_

“Delia?” Patsy sat up. “Is everything okay?”

_“I just figured out how to help with your cubs.”_

“Oh? Pray tell.”

_“Well, do any of them have first aid badges?”_ Delia asked.

Patsy had a feeling she knew where this was going.  
  
“I don't believe they do.”

_“I mean, I'm not saying having a nurse who is also with the St. John's ambulance come in and help teach your cubs basic first aid is a brilliant idea but… lets face it, it's a brilliant idea.”_ Delia replied.

Patsy could picture her grin perfectly.

She pretended to think about Delia's suggestion, if only to just try to curb down her own excitement.

“I think that's a splendid idea.” Patsy replied. “I'll run it by Fred and let you know, yeah? I’ll warn you though, it probably won’t be for a week or two.”

_“Sounds like a plan!”_ Delia laughed. _“Did I interrupt your evening?”_

Patsy settled back into the sofa and drew one of her legs up. “Would it sound terribly pathetic of me to say I was just taking a nap?”

_“No? Why would it? You're an adult who works hard, you're entitled to take naps whenever you want.”_

“I rather like your take on adulthood, Delia.”

Delia laughed. _“You know what they say, life's too short and all that. Don't deny yourself those small pleasures.”_

Patsy joined in with her own laugh. “I'll keep that in mind.”

 

* * *

 

 

“Hey Patsy, are we closed on Monday?” Tony asked.

“It's bank holiday Monday so yeah.” Patsy murmured distractedly, checking her watch again. “The delivery is late.”

“It's eleven in the morning, give them time.” Tony smirked. “You need some _patience_.”

If Patsy had anything to throw at him, she would. Instead, she settled for fixing him with a fierce glare.

Even though he was right.

“The sooner this wedding is done, the better.” Patsy sighed.

Tony hummed thoughtfully as he scribbled aimlessly in the corner of Patsy’s notepad. “It’ll be okay, this is just new territory for us, you just need to get your confidence with it.”

“I’ll feel better once i know we have enough flowers for each table, flowers for the bride and bridesmaids and-”  
  
Tony gripped her hand tightly. “Patsy, i say this with love but you need to chill out.” He held up a small paper packet. “Have a gummy bear.”

From the moment she met with the bride to be, they had been working none stop (at least it felt that way to Patsy) to get everything organised and in order. The silver lining had been that at this point the bride would be happy to just have flowers and a florist who wasn’t going to kick up a storm and quit on short notice. It meant that Patsy had plenty of leeway to work with.

The only thing working against her was time. And relying on other people to deliver the flowers to her shop.

Patsy took a gummy bear. “If Phyllis is taking me and Trixie to the wedding and reception, would you be able to take care of the shop that day?”  
  
“Absolutely.”  
  
“I’ll call Tim later and see if he can come in that day, just to give you the extra help.”  
  
Tony patted her hand absentmindedly. “Whatever stops you from calling the delivery guys and ripping into them.”

 

 

  
When Barbara walked into the shop two hours later, it was almost comedic, the way she froze mid step and took in the sight around her.

“Patsy, I know this is a flower shop but doesn’t this seem like a bit much?”  
  
Patsy sat comfortably in the middle of what was essentially a mountain of flowers. Her and Tony had spent the best part of an hour putting everything together and making sure everything was accounted for.

“There’s a wedding.” Tony explained. “I hope you’re not allergic to pollen.”  
  
“Oh no, i’m fine.” Barbara moved further into the store, mindful of the flowers spread around. “I was actually wondering if you guys were free at all tonight and if yes, did you want to go out for dinner?”  
  
Tony spoke up before Patsy could think of an excuse. “That would be lovely.”

Barbara let out a relieved sigh. “That's great, do you have a preference? Pub meal? There's a Chinese place a few streets away…” she pulled out her phone and started typing frantically, presumably to pull up directions. “Honestly I'll eat just about anything?”

“Girl after my own heart.” Tony said. “I say we just vote later?”

“Patsy?”

“Sure.”

Barbara nodded earnestly. “And uh, ask Trixie if she wants to come too?”

Tony smirked. “Oh don't worry, I'll call her.”

  


“Best holiday?” Trixie repeated. “Easy, i just got home from Paris a few weeks ago. It was simply phenomenal.”

Barbara nodded. “I saw some of the pictures from your Facebook. It looks so wonderful, I've always wanted to go to Paris.”  
  
“Well if you ever find yourself needing a tour guide, i’ll be happy to help.”  
  
Tony disguised his quiet snort behind his pint. Patsy was speechless at the ease in which Trixie could flirt.

They’d agreed on the Chinese restaurant in the end and it was all too easy for the four of them to settle into conversation around the table.

Barbara was an inquisitive person, and Patsy realised that the woman asked a lot of questions about their lives, childhoods and interests, though she eagerly met each story with one of her own.

Patsy was just thankful that Tony and Trixie were such characters. Their childhood stories and tales of high school shenanigans definitely seemed more colourful and entertaining than her stories of private school.

“This food is to die for.” Tony moaned. “We need to come here more.”  
  
“You say that about pretty much every place we eat at.” Patsy replied.  
  
“Food is delicious, Patience. I will not apologise for appreciating fine dining.” Tony protested.

“I’ve always wanted to go to Camden market.” Barbara said. “They have so many different food stalls, do you want to go sometime?”  
  
Tony reached across their plates of food to grab Barbara’s hand, a serious expression on his face.  
  
“Barbara Gilbert, i would love nothing more.”

“What about you Trix? Patsy?”

Trixie smiled. “If I left you in Tony’s hands you’d only get lost.”

“She has a point.” Tony laughed. “Patsy, you could bring Delia!”  
  
“Who’s Delia?” Barbara asked.

“A friend.” Patsy replied, glaring at Tony and Trixie, daring them to even try and say something else.  
  
“Bring her!” Barbara beamed. “The more the merrier.” She looked down at their plates and let out a thoughtful sound. “Is it too soon to ask for the dessert menu?”  
  
Trixie gestured for the waiter. “Absolutely not.”

  


Patsy kicked off her heels as Trixie closed the door behind them.

“That was fun.” Patsy admitted. “Barbara is nice.”  
  
“She is.” Trixie agreed. She was more careful in taking off her own heels, setting them in place beside Patsy’s shoes.  
  
“You can also see her from your window.” Tony called.  
  
He was standing at the window, waving. When Patsy and Trixie joined him, surely enough they could see Barbara, looking slightly bewildered, but smiling nonetheless as she waved back from her own living room.

“I never noticed that before?” Patsy replied.

“Sweetie, that’s because you don’t bother to look out of the window unless it’s to water your flowers.” Trixie pointed out.

Patsy nodded. “Good point. Are you both staying?”  
  
“If that’s okay with you.”  
  
“Of course it is.” Patsy squeezed Trixie’s hand.

Tony drifted past them, running a hand through his hair. “I need to drink some water. I refuse to be hungover again.”  
  
Trixie and Tony were such frequent visitors in her home, Patsy was comfortable enough to leave them to their own devices. She knew for a fact that Trixie kept some spare outfits in her wardrobe, in case of emergencies.

Patsy put her phone on charge and while Tony and Trixie were elsewhere, she got changed into her pyjamas.

Within a minute of dropping down onto the bed, Trixie and Tony fell in on either side of her.  
  
“Seriously?” She asked. “This isn’t exactly a queen sized bed, you know. A girl needs her space.”

“Just five minutes.” Tony said. “I need to hear Trixie’s thoughts on our new friend.”  
  
Patsy knew for a fact that he was wiggling his eyebrows.  
  
“I assumed my thoughts were obvious.” Trixie replied. “She’s nice, funny, cute-”  
  
“Are you going to ask her out?” Patsy asked.  
  
Trixie laughed, eyes fixed firmly on the ceiling. “Hardly. I don't even know if she's interested in women.”

“That's always the problem isn't it?” Patsy said. Her words more of a statement than a question. “There isn't exactly an easy way to let people know you aren't straight.”

“Beyond wearing a pride bracelet.” Trixie replied. “Or putting it in your Facebook profile.”

Patsy joined Trixie in staring at the ceiling.

“Speaking of pride, we’re going to go right?” Tony asked.  
  
“Wouldn’t miss it.” Trixie replied. She sat up to switch the lamp off and lay back down. Patsy was firmly trapped between her two friends. “Now, can we please go to sleep?”  
  
Patsy couldn’t be bothered to protest.

 

* * *

 

 

“I do love a wedding.” Trixie sighed happily. She was fixing using her phone to fix her lipstick.

Patsy was going over her checklist for the dozenth time and counting down the minutes to Phyllis’s arrival. “You know we’re not actually going to see the wedding, right?”

If everything went to plan, Patsy figured that they’d be ready to come back by about four.

Though she was being incredibly optimistic (it was the only way she could push away all of the scenarios in which everything could go horribly wrong)

She turned to Tony. “Will you be okay? Tim will be here soon.”  
  
Tony waved a hand. “I will be fine, you’ve left me in charge before.”  
  
Phyllis walked into the shop, as confident as ever. “Good morning all.”

“Good morning Phyllis.” Trixie greeted.  
  
“You are a lifesaver, Pyllis.” Patsy added. “Thank you so-”  
  
Phyllis cut her off by holding a hand up. “No need to thank me, now, shall we get everything loaded? Traffic has been kin to me thus far but i don’t trust the streets of London.”

Phyllis was ready to jump right into business.  
  


Patsy was already making her way outside, she heard Tony speak up that he was going to help.  
  
"I was hoping to catch you before you left."  
  
Patsy turned at the sound of Delia's voice, carefully propping flowers under her arm. "Delia, hey. Is everything okay?"

Delia laughed and stepped closer. "I remembered how worried you seemed to be about this wedding, I was passing through the area anyway so I figured I'd stop by to wish you luck. And to see if you needed any help." She added with a shrug.  
  
Not for the first time, Patsy was moved by Delia's thoughtfulness.  
  
"I really appreciate that Delia." Patsy turned to put the flowers into Phyllis's car and did her best not to pay attention to Tony as he walked out of the shop, more flowers in tow.   
  
"Imagine getting married the day before Easter." Delia mused, tilting her head back to look at the sky. "At least the weather is holding up."  
  
"Hello Delia!" Tony greeted brightly. "Aren't you a sight for sore eyes? What brings you here?"  
  
Delia beamed. "Just wanted to say hi and to wish you all luck with this wedding, need any help?"  
  
"I've got it covered, thank you Delia." Tony replied. He leaned closer towards her. "Though if you could give Patsy here some reassurance, that'd be wonderful." He added in a mock whisper, winking when Patsy huffed.

"I'll do my best." Delia replied.

"I'm fine, honestly." Patsy protested as soon as Tony was out of earshot.   
  
Delia nodded. "I believe you. You've put a lot of work into this." She nudged Patsy playfully with her elbow. "Though you have to promise me that you'll treat yourself for all your hard work tomorrow? It is Easter after all."  
  
"I will." Patsy replied. "What about you? Do you have plans?"  
  
"I'm working, sadly. Though I'm going to my aunts in Hornsey for dinner." Delia replied.   
  
"You should be the one treating yourself." Patsy said. "You work so hard."  
  
Delia grinned. "I'm sure I'll find a way."

"Patsy, I hate to interrupt but I must remind you that we are on a schedule." Phyllis said, walking out of the shop with an amused Trixie and Tony trailing behind her. "We must account for traffic and roadworks."  
  
Patsy turned to give Delia an apologetic smile. "Duty calls."  
  
"You've got this in the bag, Patsy. Don't worry about anything." Delia said. "You'll let me know how it goes?"  
  
"I will." Patsy promised.

 

“Have I mentioned that i’m not particularly fond of weddings?” Patsy asked, fixing her seat belt in place.  
  
“Three times in the past hour.” Trixie replied. “It went well!”  
  
“You did very well.” Phyllis spoke up. “I heard some very pleasing comments. You could be getting a lot more business from now on.”  
  
“We should start a Facebook page.” Trixie commented idly, and then gasped, leaning forward in her seat and grabbing Patsy’s shoulder. “We need to start a Facebook page.”  
  
Phyllis muttered something about the unreliability of the internet.

“I barely use my own Facebook.” Patsy said.  
  
“I’m aware. Your profile is ninety percent candy crush.” Trixie sat back. “I’ll handle it.”

Trixie had done so much today, it seemed like second nature to her and she had effortlessly rallied together some extra sets of hands to help them set up the reception area. Because of that, they had gotten the all clear from the mother of the bride and had left slightly earlier than Patsy’s plan.

She was seriously considering letting Trixie handle any future weddings. She was certainly capable enough.

“We should go somewhere for lunch.” Phyllis said. “I believe we’ve more than earned it.”  
  
Trixie laughed. “You’re a true brick, Phyllis.”

  


* * *

  
  
  
“I honestly couldn’t tell you the last time i set foot in a church.” Tony whispered. He eyed everybody they walked past carefully. “This is very surreal.”  
  
Patsy and Trixie shared an eyeroll and Trixie tugged Patsy’s arm, leading her to an empty pew.

“Is it weird that I want to touch holy water and hiss like it burned me?” Tony asked. “Scare all the old conservative people.”

“Maybe later, sweetie. Getting kicked out of a church is not on my bucket list.” Trixie replied.

“Nobody gets kicked out until after we’ve seen Tim play.” Patsy warned.

None of them had been big fans of celebrating Easter, so when Patsy had suggested they go to show support for Tim, Trixie and Tony had agreed easily.

Tony audibly groaned when Tom walked into view, and groaned louder when he realised Tom would be leading the service. Trixie seemed just as enthusiastic, though she did perk up when Barbara slipped into the empty space beside Trixie.  
  
“Sorry i’m late.” Barbara whispered. “Phone call with my dad.”  
  
Patsy tried her best to pay attention to the service. Truly, she did. The problem was that Tom had the charisma of a cantaloupe.

She did spot Sister Julienne, however, who gave her a kind smile and when Tim appeared and caught her gaze when he spotted them in the crowd, his bright grin made the whole thing worth it.

Plus, the kid can really play.  
  
The singers were good too, but they had come to support Tim (even though it meant joining everybody else in hymn)  
  
“Is it inappropriate to cheer?” Tony asked. “Or clap?”  
  
“Yes. To both.” Patsy replied.  
  
“He’s very talented.” Barbara spoke up.  
  
In the end they settled for giving him a solid thumbs up once he was finished and the choir sat down once more.

 

Tim sought them out as soon as the service was over.

“What are you guys doing here?” He asked, hugging Trixie.  
  
“We wanted to be moral support.” Patsy replied. “You were incredible.”  
  
Tim shrugged like it was nothing and then flashed Barbara a quizzical look.  
  
“Oh right, Tim, this is Barbara, she owns the sweet shop opposite.”  
  
Barbara waved.  
  
“Oh right, cool!”  
  
Shelagh made her way towards them through the crowd. “Tim, your father- Oh, Patsy! I had no idea you’d all be here. Thank you so much for the flowers, they were beautiful.”  
  
Patsy smiled. “It was no problem, congratulations, is all well?”  
  
Shelagh placed a hand over her stomach, smiling brightly. “It’s wonderful. We’re still a little bit shocked. How did you enjoy the service?”  
  
“Best one I've ever been to.” Tony replied easily.

It was most definitely the _only_ service he had been to.

Trixie, Patsy and Barbara echoed his words, nodding eagerly.

 

“I'm so excited for tomorrow.” Tony clapped his hands together excitedly.

“Why tomorrow?” Trixie asked.

“Companies always buy far too much stock for the build up to Easter, tomorrow they will be desperate to get rid of said stock. It's basically the best day ever.” Tony explained. “It's better than the day after Valentine's Day because none of the chocolate reminds me of how painfully single I am.”

“Don't you already have like three Easter eggs at home?” Trixie frowned.

“Two.” Tony replied. “I may have eaten one last night.”

Patsy let herself fall back behind the group. Tony was content to lead the way while Trixie charmed Barbara with one of her many stories.  
  
She found her thoughts drifting to, of all things, Delia.

(Though that was hardly a surprise these days)  
  
She knew Delia was working today, had offered to stay longer because one of her coworkers was sick. Patsy pulled out her phone and spent a long few moments staring at the screen.

Trixie’s sixth sense must have kicked in because she drifted to Patsy’s side.

“You seem quiet.” Trixie tilted her head to glance at the phone. “Everything alright?”  
  
“I'm fine.” Patsy met Trixie's gaze and relented. “Delia's working, and pretty much all of her family are all the way back in Wales.”

“You should call her.” Trixie replied. “I'm sure she'd appreciate it.”

Patsy looked down at her phone, as if she seriously hadn't considered that an option. “I don't know…”

“Oh come on Patsy, what's the worst that could happen? At most, she doesn't answer. She’ll be thankful.”

Trixie rejoined Barbara, giving Patsy some privacy.

Trixie meant well, Patsy knew that much, but her words did very little to comfort her.

The truth of the matter was, Patsy just didn't feel brave enough to reach out, to make the call. On top of all the work Delia must be doing today, she probably had plans with friends and coworkers, she didn't need Patsy.

Patsy sighed and slipped her phone into her pocket. She'd send Delia a happy Easter text later. Preferably after eating an egg and a glass of wine.

  


* * *

 

 

Waking up on Monday morning and knowing she didn't have to get up to open the shop, that all she had to do was head down at some point to water some of her flowers but beyond that, the day was hers.

Patsy rolled over to bury her face into her pillow.

She had no idea what to do.

It was why she hated having days off. She hated having so much time and not having anything to fill the time with.

Patsy knew she could just spend the day inside, curl up and watch Netflix but a childhood upbringing where every free moment was filled with extra curricular activities, she couldn't quite stop the distant feelings of guilt at the notion of ‘wasting’ time.  
  
  
  
Patsy got up less than an hour later, unable to let herself spend any more time in bed.

Just because she was closed today, it didn't mean she could let her standards drop. Flowers needed to be tended to.

Her phone rang before Patsy could get too far with her plans. She couldn't be too annoyed though, not when it was Delia's name that flashed on her screen.

“Delia? Hey.”

_“Good morning!”_ Delia greeted. _“So hey, what are you doing right now? Are you working?”_

Patsy glanced around her shop. “Officially? No. I'm just cleaning. Why?”

Delia hummed thoughtfully. _“I was looking up film listings and apparently there's a place that likes to show classics and cult stuff? They also have leather sofas.”_

“Oh?”

_“And yeah, they're showing rebel without a cause? I've never seen it and I don't know, you strike me as the type who likes classic stuff?”_ Delia cleared her throat. _“But if you're busy I totally get it-”_

Delia’s words finally registered with Patsy and she was certain that she couldn't keep the shock out of her voice. “Are you inviting me?”

_“...Yes?”_ Delia replied, sounding confused. _“Did you think- ah, never mind. Yes Patsy, would you like to come to the cinema with me?”_

Patsy was still very much shocked. And a little bit embarrassed. Though mostly she couldn't believe that Delia wanted to hang out with her.

Still, she knew she'd regret it if she turned down Delia's invitation.

“Sure, I'd really like that.”

_“Awesome! I'll text you the time and address?”_

“Sounds good.”

  


Patsy wasn’t subtle in the way that she was constantly checking her watch. As soon as Delia had hung up she had sent Patsy a text with the address for the cinema and the time for when the film was supposed to start.

So there Patsy was, waiting in the foyer of the cinema, checking the time and wondering where on Earth Delia was.

She was about thirty seconds from calling Delia, when the woman in question practically ran up to her.

“Patsy!” Delia came to a stop in front of Patsy, looking apologetic. “Patsy i’m so sorry, google maps betrayed me.”

It’s amazing how Delia’s mere presence put Patsy’s anxieties at ease.

“Did i keep you waiting long?” Delia asked.  
  
“No, it’s fine. I was early.” Patsy replied. She grinned. “You really do have a habit of getting lost, don’t you?”

Delia laughed and bumped her shoulder gently against Patsy’s arm as she walked by. “I seem to find you easy enough.” She replied casually. “Do you want to get popcorn too?”  
  
“Sure.” Patsy agreed quietly. She fell into step beside Delia.

“Honestly, one of the best parts about moving to London is the fact that the cinemas show more than whichever fast and furious movie they’re currently on.”  
  
Patsy laughed and sipped her coffee. “Not a fan?”  
  
Delia simply glared, only serving to make Patsy laugh harder.

  


Once the film had finished, they’d decided to go to the coffee shop opposite, even though it had been Delia’s idea, Patsy had been certain that the woman had realised that Patsy was in desperate need of caffeine.

Patsy was just happy to sit back and let Delia talk about the movie.  
  
(Delia just had a way with words, Patsy hadn’t paid half of the attention to the film as she did to Delia.)

“Thank you for coming with me.”

Patsy looked up to meet Delia’s gaze, surprised to see that Delia looked almost shy.

“I don’t usually mind going to the cinema alone, but I don’t know, i’d rather have the company.” Delia continued with a shrug. “So yeah, thank you.”  
  
“I should be thanking you.” Patsy replied. “Before Trixie and Tom started to work with me, I just worked all the time, now that I have days off, I never know what to do with myself. I tend to feel rather lost in all honesty.”  
  
Patsy dropped her gaze to avoid Delia’s intense gaze.

She still wasn’t used to how honest she found herself to be when in Delia’s presence.

“So thank you, for choosing to invite me.”  
  
Patsy could hardly imagine that she would be Delia’s first choice. Maybe Delia had wanted to invite somebody from the hospital but couldn’t because they were working.

“It was hardly a choice, Patsy. You were the first person I thought of.” Delia tilted her head to the side as she studied Patsy’s (presumably surprised) expression.

“What is it?” Patsy asked.

“I’m just wondering what’s going on inside that head of yours.” Delia said. “You always look lost in thought, like you're holding something back.”

Patsy gave a small, self deprecating laugh. “I don't think you'd be interested in my thoughts.”

“Try me.”

Even though those had been Delia's words, the glint in her eye and the direct tone of her voice suggested something different to Patsy.

_“Trust me.”_

Patsy was speechless, she could only hope that her expression spoke enough for her.  
  
_“I do. And it terrifies me.”_

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't say when the next chapter will happen, with work and moving and a whole bunch of other stuff i don't have as much free time as i'd like, but i promise that i work on this fic in almost every spare moment i get, thank you all for sticking with it though, i appreciate and love you all so much


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi I PROMISE I HAVEN'T FORGOTTEN ABOUT THIS FIC it's just that life keeps happening and long story short i overworked myself and there was a couple trips to the hospital but everything is fine and this fic is still happening
> 
> Also i love you all how are you all doing

 

“So, in a nutshell, the facebook page is printed on the bottom of the business cards along with the email and number, we can post pictures of weddings and stuff- with permission from customers of course. It’s just a much more direct way of connecting with potential clients.”

Patsy nodded and looked up from the laptop to meet Trixie’s gaze. It was clear to anyone that Trixie had thought this through in length and put genuine time into the project. She’d even designed a mockup of the business cards.

“What do you think?” Trixie asked.

“I think it’s great.” Patsy replied honestly. “It all looks wonderful, truly. How long did this take you?”  
  
Trixie shrugged and moved to Patsy’s side, closing the laptop and moving it to one side. “It’s been a side project for the past few days.”

Patsy could tell that Trixie was trying to be blase about it, even though she was clearly relieved that Patsy liked the work she’d done.

She made a point of nudging Trixie. “Well I think it’s marvellous. Thank you Trixie.”

Trixie smiled. “It’s nothing, honestly. Are you coming to the pub quiz tomorrow?”  
  
“Sure.”  
  
“Is Delia?”  
  
Patsy frowned. “I honestly hadn’t thought to ask.”

Trixie’s sigh was somehow the perfect balance of unsurprised and exasperated. “Honestly, Patsy? Invite her! Barbara has already promised to come and Tony will be heartbroken if Delia doesn’t. What if there’s another Space Jam related question?”  
  
“I’m sure we’d manage.” Patsy replied. “But I’ll text her later and see if she’s free.”

Trixie nodded, knowing that was the best answer she was going to get. For a moment, it looked like she was going to say something else but her gaze shot towards the window and she grinned suddenly.  
  
“Trixie?”  
  
“Customer incoming.” Trixie sang. Sounding far too smug for her own good, her grin only got bigger as the door opened.

Patsy looked over and smiled as Delia walked in, pulling her hood down and shaking her hair free.  
  
“Delia!”  
  
Delia beamed. “Hello Pats, hey Trixie!”

“Good morning Delia.” Trixie replied, now looking as smug as she sounded. “How are you?”  
  
“I’m great, thanks for asking.”  
  
The phone started to ring and before Patsy could even lift her hand, Trixie shot up to grab it, cutting her off with a sharp look.  
  
“I’ll handle this, Patsy, you stay and keep Delia company.” She threw in a subtle wink for good measure.

Patsy had to wonder if the universe was conspiring against her, if the timely phone calls were anything to go by.

“Busy?” Delia asked, gaze tracking Trixie’s retreating figure.  
  
“Not really.” Patsy replied, she rested her chin in the palm of her hand as Delia leaned against the counter. “Day off?”  
  
“I wish. I start at lunch.” Delia replied. “I was in the area, wanted to swing by to get another one of these.” She put a cactus on the counter.  
  
“Seriously?”  
  
“And to see you of course.” Delia added with a wink. An honest to god wink. “I had fun the other day.”  
“So did I.” Patsy replied without hesitation. “Thank you again for inviting me.”  
  
Delia waved a hand. “I was actually wondering if you wanted to make it a thing? The other day you said that you didn’t know what to do on your days off so I was thinking that if our days off coincided then we could make it a movie day?”

Patsy looked down at her hands, picking at the skin around her nails in a vague attempt at distracting herself and easing her anxieties. Patsy couldn’t help but immediately worry at the prospect of spending so much time around Delia, no matter how much she wanted to be around the other woman.  
  
What if after a few more meetings Delia felt that Patsy was boring? What if she got sick of her? Patsy didn’t want any of those things to happen.

“Penny for your thoughts.” Delia sing-songed, though her expression was not quite as playful as her voice was.  
  
Patsy sighed. “I feel as though you’ll find me terribly boring after a while.”

Delia reached across and brushed her fingers across Patsy’s knuckles gently, causing Patsy to stop her fidgeting. Delia retracted her touch almost immediately and yet Patsy could still feel the soft brush of skin lingering for several moments.  
  
“Well, there’s no need. I don’t find you boring at all Patsy. Not even a little bit, please don’t think that of yourself.” Delia shifted slightly, to catch Patsy’s eye. “I like spending time with you, I like getting to know _you._ ”  
  
Patsy could hear the sound of Trixie’s heels getting closer, and so she cleared her throat and forced herself to look brighter. “We’re planning on going to the pub quiz this week, to maintain our reigning champion status, we’d very much benefit from your nineties pop culture knowledge.”  
  
Delia raised an eyebrow at the sudden shift but nodded in understanding when she saw Trixie emerge from room behind Patsy and smiled. “I’d love to.” She leaned in a little closer. “It’ll give you some time to choose the next movie we see, if that’s what you want to do.”  
  
Delia had very much left the ball in Patsy’s court, the invitation was there and Patsy knew that she wouldn't push, that was just the type of person Delia seemed to be.  
  
“Who was on the phone?” Patsy asked.

“Customer coming by at lunch to enquire about our services.” Trixie replied. “Another cactus?”  
  
“Pete needs a friend.” Delia shrugged. “How much do I owe?”  
  
“You know you don’t have to pay anything, Deels.”  
  
From the corner of her eye, she saw Trixie’s eyebrows shoot up and her jaw drop despite her grin.  
  
The nickname had been rolling around in her head for a few days, since Delia had called her Pats, in fact. Patsy had never expected herself to slip up and actually say it, let alone say it in company of her dearest friend (who would most definitely tease her for it)

Delia rolled her eyes. “You know you have a business to run?”  
  
“A two pound cactus isn’t going to make or break my shop figures.” Patsy replied.  
  
Delia put two pounds on the table and crossed her arms. “So then it won’t be a problem if I paid for it then?”  
  
They held each other's gaze for several moments before Patsy let out a sigh. “Fine.”  
  
“Do you have a name for it yet?” Trixie asked.

“Spiky Steve.” Delia replied without any hint of hesitation.  
  
She’d clearly thought about this in depth.

“So, I’ll see you both on Thursday?” Delia asked. She looked from Trixie to Patsy and let her gaze settle.  
  
Patsy nodded. “Absolutely.”

 

* * *

 

    
“Is Tony trash talking with a vicar?” Barbara asked quietly, leaning closely to Trixie so that Patsy could hear her clearly.

All three of them looked over to the bar where surely enough, Tony and Tom seemed to be locked in an intense conversation while the bartender looked on helplessly.

“I think it’s just friendly banter…” Trixie replied. “Keep the mood, you know?”

“He is very.... Passionate.” Barbara nodded.

Patsy nodded, that was certainly one way to put it. She found her gaze flicking to the door, looking for signs of Delia. Delia wasn’t exactly known for being punctual, but surely she wouldn’t get lost coming to a place that she had been to before.

“Are you okay, Patsy?” Barbara asked. “You seem nervous.”  
  
“Oh no. I’m fine. Perfectly fine.”

“She’s probably just wondering where Delia is.” Trixie replied. “I wouldn’t worry, you know she’ll be here.”  
  
Tony approached the table slowly, focused intently on not spilling the drinks in his arms. “Sorry about the delay, ladies. One orange juice, one coke, gin and tonic, a pint of strongbow for yours truly and a jack and coke for our favourite Welsh woman- when she gets here.”

“I hope you gave Val a tip for forcing her to watch you and Tom get territorial over a pub quiz.” Trixie said.

“Oh don’t worry, it was all very mature.” Tony sipped his drink. “I just politely informed him that he had better get used to losing because we weren’t ready to let go of our title just yet.”  
  
Trixie nodded along seriously. “Oh yeah, very mature.”  
  
Barbara honest to god giggled beside her.

Patsy could only pay a small amount of attention to the sound as her eyes were immediately drawn to the door as Delia walked in.

If her expression was that of barely concealed awe, her friends all helpfully pretended not to notice.

Delia looked good in flannel. Like, _really_ good. Flannel was ruined for everyone else. The fact that Delia had rolled the sleeves up only made it look better.

(She _may_ have a crush)

Not that she was ready to admit that.

“Ah, Delia!” Tony beamed. “This is Miss Barbara Gilbert of Gilbert’s sweet emporium.”  
  
Barbara held out her hand. “It’s nice to meet you, i’ve heard a bit about you.”  
  
“All good I hope?” Delia replied, shooting a quick wink in Patsy’s direction. She took the seat beside Patsy and thanked Tony as he pushed her drink closer to her.

“Oh yes! Of course.” Barbara nodded rapidly, genuinely concerned that Delia would think otherwise.  
  
Patsy rolled her eyes. “She’s just teasing you Barbara.”

Delia mock gasped, holding a hand to her chest. “Me? Teasing? Well I never.”  
  
“Because you’re so innocent, right?”  
  
Delia’s dropped all hints of playfulness. “Well I wouldn’t say that.”

Before they could speak anymore about just how innocent Delia may or may not be, Fred, for better or worse, came up to their table.

“Good evening ladies and gent, you all know the rules by now.” He set a piece of paper and an accompanying pen down on the table. “Keep it all in good fun, remember?” He shot a pointed look at Tony.

Tony paid him no mind and immediately set to work on coming up with a team name for them.

“Oh, and Patsy, if you still want to show the cubs first aid then you have the all clear to do it this week.”  
  
Patsy and Delia shared a quick look before they both grinned up at the older man.  
  
“Thank you Fred! That’s wonderful news!”  
  
“Told you it was a good idea, Pats.” Delia whispered.

“Never doubted you there, Deels.” Patsy replied.  
  
Tony and Trixie shared a look that could only be described as exasperated.  

As Fred moved on to the next table, Delia shifted forward in her seat so that she could see Barbara.

“So Barbara, what's it like living every kids dream and owning a sweet shop?”

 

 

“This is it. This is the dream team.” Tony sighed happily as he wrote an answer down.  
  
He did have a point, if Patsy were the type to take a pub quiz half as seriously as Tony did, she knew she’d be impressed with how they were performing. Though as far as she was concerned, she was just happy that spending time with these people felt effortless.

Delia and Barbara got along easily, sharing a mutual adoration of Harry Potter had a tendency to do that. As soon as they realised they’d both read the books, it was pretty much game over from there.

They were a force to be reckoned with, Patsy was fairly sure they could win every pub quiz as a brilliant and incredibly nerdy duo.

“Mara Wilson stars as the lead of which children's book of the same name?” Fred asked.

Trixie, Delia, Barbara and Patsy all gasped in unison, though it was Delia who beat them to the punch.  
  
“Matilda!”  
  
Tony looked between them all with a raised eyebrow as he wrote the answer down. “You all knew that?”  
  
Delia sighed happily. “Ms Honey was my first crush.”  
  
Patsy tried to be subtle in her choking on her drink, it didn’t really work.

Trixie nodded in agreement. “I must have watched it every week when I was a kid.”  
  
“I just really liked the movie.” Barbara added quietly, her gaze flickered briefly across the table. “But in hindsight I realised that I definitely had a crush on her.”  
  
Delia and Trixie nodded in understanding. Trixie shot Patsy a look questioning look, it almost felt like a challenge, daring her to say something.

“I would have enjoyed school a lot more if Ms Honey had been there.”  
  
“I feel like I need to see this movie now, just so I know what you’re all talking about.” Tony mused.

Patsy glanced over at Delia and was pretty sure she could see her smirk from over the rim of her glass.

“It’s on Netflix, we should have a movie night!” Barbara suggested. “I have Netflix and a sweet shop.”  
  
“Two of my three favourite things!” Delia exclaimed.  
  
“What’s the third?” Tony asked.

Delia grinned at him. “Oh look, Fred is about to ask another question.”  
  
Tony raised an eyebrow, but accepted the segue regardless. Shifting his attention back to the matter at hand.

 

 

During the (admittedly) tense minutes while each team's answers are being marked, Barbara’s gaze remained fixed on Tony until eventually, the entire group became aware of it.

“Are you okay Barbara?” Tony asked apprehensively.

“I was just admiring your tattoos, i've never had a chance to see them properly.”  
  
“Oh.” Tony rolled his arms, showing off the series of random designs decorating his skin. “I suppose I have been wearing a lot of jumpers recently.”

“They’re very cool.”  
  
“If you think those are cool you should see Patsy’s tattoo.”  
  
Barbara and Delia’s gazes whipped towards her. Patsy felt herself get hot under the sudden scrutiny.

“Really?” Barbara asked.

“Patience Mount, I didn’t know you had it in you.” Delia added, leaning closer towards Patsy and smirking at her. "What is it?  _Where_ is it?"

“That’s for me to know.” Patsy managed to reply eventually.

It was probably the most spontaneous thing she had done, and even then it had taken her almost two hours to finally let the tattooist near her. Tony had been there to provide encouragement and support.

She had deliberately chosen a place that could be easily hidden, the only time someone would be likely to see it would be if Patsy chose to show them.

“And for us to find out?” Delia asked.

Tony and Trixie bursting into laughter didn’t help matters at all, they made Barbara look at them in confusion while Delia kept her (slightly unfocused) gaze directed at Patsy.

“It’s… Well, you see…” Patsy cleared her throat. “So I think I need another drink, anybody else?”  
  
Tony finished his drink swiftly and moved to gather the empty glasses littering their table. “Sure thing pumpkin, i’ll give you a hand.”

 

 

“You seem so close to Tony, Trixie and Delia.” Barbara said. It was the first time the woman had spoken since she and Patsy had said goodbye to the rest of the group and began to make their way home. “How long have you all known each other?”  
  
“I’ve known Trixie and Tony for… Five years? Though I knew Tony first. I’ve only known Delia for a few weeks.”  
  
“Really?”  
  
“What?”  
  
Barbara shrugged. “You just seem close, you know? I thought you two had known each other for years.”  
  
“Hasn’t Trixie said anything?” Patsy asked.

Barbara looked away quickly. “We usually talk about other stuff.”  
  
Patsy felt her eyebrows raise as she wondered what exactly they could talk about, but quickly pushed her curiosity down to change the subject.  
  
“Tonight was fun, we should all go out together more often.”  
  
“We should.” Barbara agreed. “I was serious about a movie night though. If Tony hasn’t seen Matilda then this needs to be fixed as soon as possible.”  
  
Patsy laughed and nudged her elbow against Barbara. “I think that would be great, and you know, if you’re ever bored then you can always come over, it’s not like I live a distance away.”  
  
“Likewise.”

 

 

Unable to sleep, Patsy found herself replaying her conversation with Barbara over in her head, it hadn't occurred to her how others might perceive her friendship with Delia but even then, Patsy was surprised that Barbara could think they had known each other for so long.

Truthfully, Patsy couldn't quite believe that she had known Delia for so little time. Delia just seemed to fit in beside her.  
  
Patsy was calling Delia before she could second guess herself, given the time, she wasn't even expecting an answer.

_"Hello?"  
  
_ "Did I wake you, Delia?"  
  
_"Pats? Are you okay?"  
  
_ "Do you want to go see Wonder Woman next week?"  
  
There was a beat of silence before she heard Delia laugh softly.  
  
(Beautifully)  
  
_"Sure Pats. We'll see Wonder Woman."  
  
_ "Okay."  
  
_"Okay."  
  
_ "I'm sorry if I woke you." Patsy apologised.  
  
_"Night Patsy."_  
  
"Goodnight Delia."

 

 

* * *

 

 

_From: Delia_  
_So I definitely can’t convince you to tell me what the tattoo is?_

Patsy rolled her eyes, she had hoped that the conversation would have slipped the woman's mind by the time she woke up and yet instead, it had been the first thing Delia asked about when she had woken up.

Not even a hangover could stop Delia, it seemed.

  
_To: Delia_  
_Nope, sorry Deels_

  
_From: Delia_  
_You’re lucky I like a girl with mystery._

Patsy had no words to respond with and so she settled for dropping her phone into her bag just in time for Sister Julienne to walk into the room carrying a tray of tea and biscuits.  
  
The invite to come in for tea had been unexpected, the gentle insistence from Sister Julienne, even more so.

“Thank you for joining me, Patsy. I appreciate the company. Would you like some milk?”  
  
“Yes please. And thank you for inviting me, it’s always nice to catch up.”  
  
They talked for a few minutes before Patsy spotted a cat hop onto the table behind Sister Julienne. It wasn’t until the cat wandered into Sister Julienne’s line of sight did the older woman laugh softly.

“I didn’t know you had a cat.” Patsy said.

“We don’t, animals aren’t permitted here i’m afraid. But for the past few days we’ve made an exception for this young creature.” Sister Julienne rose from her seat to pick up the cat, once she sat down she began to scratch behind his ear and he immediately settled down into her lap. His ginger fur standing out starkly against her habit.

“So why the exception?” Patsy asked.

“His previous owner was one of our parishioners, she sadly passed away a couple of weeks ago and she had no family. We’ve been taking care of him until we could find a home for him.”  
  
Patsy nodded, already getting a slightly terrified feeling that she knew where this conversation was going.

“He is truly a wonderful guest. Very docile and gives affection freely.” Sister Julienne explained.

“You didn’t invite me in just for tea, did you?” Patsy asked.

Sister Julienne smiled. “I will admit to slightly ulterior motives. However I have sincerely enjoyed having tea with you.”

Had it been anybody else asking, Patsy knew she would say no immediately. She wouldn’t even give them room to ask. But this was Sister Julienne and Patsy had a feeling that the woman could ask almost anything of her and Patsy would say yes.  
  
Sister Julienne was just too damn influential and Patsy just didn’t have it in her to disappoint the woman. 

(The way the cat kept staring at her with his huge green eyes didn’t help)  
  
She reached forward to scratch behind his ear. “What’s his name?”  
  
Sister Julienne beamed. “Cinnamon.”  
  
Patsy sighed. Of course it was.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also if you're a UK resident please please PLEASE vote today it's so important  
> I'm probably gonna stick to shorter chapters just so I can try and update a little more regularly? At least until everything settles down a bit. But thank you so much for being patient while i get my shit together and thank you for reading  
> feel free hmu on tumblr @ puppydanvers


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLO HAPPY 2018 I AM SORRY I AM GARBAGE BUT I AM ALIVE AND HERE IS A CHAPTER I LOVE U ALL
> 
> also i barely proof read it bc i have work in the morning and it's my first shift at the big store as a Supervisor(tm) and i'm probably about 2 have a nervous breakdown lol

 

 

“Hey guys!” Tony kicked the door to the store open, grinning. “You would not believe what I- Why is there a cat here?”

Before Patsy could begin to answer, Trixie shot up, scooping Cinnamon into her arms and walking over to him.   
  
“Patsy got guilt tripped by Sister Julienne, his name is Cinnamon.”   
  
Tony snorted and scratched behind Cinnamon’s ear, whispering a high pitched “oh my God.” under his breath.

Patsy sighed and pinched the bridge of her eyes. Trixie wasn’t wrong but did she have to be so… blunt about it?

“Tony, what were you going to say?” Patsy asked.

Tony was currently burying his face into the cats fur, Patsy was surprised at how excited Cinnamon was to be on the receiving end of so much affection, whereas she couldn’t seem to hold his attention for more than a few seconds.

“What? Oh. I flirted with a cashier in McDonald’s today and got an extra nugget in my sharebox today as well as a happy meal toy.” Tony waved a hand. “But fuck that because you got a cat!?”

“I know I can’t believe it either.” Patsy sighed. She held up a finger. “And if you even think about making a joke about you know what then I will personally end you.”

Tony gave a slow nod and set Cinnamon down on the counter. “Okay yeah that’s fair.”  
  
“Have you told Delia yet?” Trixie asked, leaning against the counter beside Tony.

Patsy raised an eyebrow at Trixie. “Did you have to bring her into the conversation?”  
  
“Yep.”   
  
“Any reason why?”   
  
“Because it’s funny and also you haven’t been on her phone for a while so that means you haven’t been texting her.” Trixie shrugged, she scratched behind Cinnamon’s ear.

“Alright there Nancy Drew.”

“I’m clearly a Daphne Blake.” Trixie shot back. “But I appreciate the sentiment.”

“I’m assuming this means you don’t want to go out for dinner tonight then?” Tony said.

“Do you ever think the reason you don’t have a whole lot of money is because you always eat out?” Trixie asked.

“I don’t know how to cook!” He pointed at Patsy. “She can’t cook either!”

“Neither can Trixie!” Patsy replied.

“Excuse you, I can make pasta.”

After a few moments, they all sighed. Trixie reached out to pat Cinnamon on the head. “So all we’ve done is establish that none of us can cook.”

“Gay and bi solidarity is not knowing how to cook.” Tony said.

“We should probably fix that. We’re supposed to be adults.” Trixie added. “We can’t keep eating out all the time.”  
  
Tony placed his chin in the palm of his hand, flashing his signature smirk. “Patsy, when was the last time you ate out?”

Trixie tried to choke back her laughter as she covered Cinnamon’s ears. “Oh my god.”

Patsy looked around for anything that she could possibly throw at her friend, though Tony was already walking backwards, throwing up finger guns for good measure.   
  
“Okay, I’m going to go, see you both tomorrow?”   
  
“Of course.”   
  
“Definitely.” Trixie replied, still laughing.

As Tony left, Trixie turned back to Patsy. “Do you know anything about taking care of a cat? Do you have everything you need?”  
  
“Sister Julienne already had everything for me, I just need to buy some more food for him in a couple of days.”

Trixie nodded, leaning forward to kiss the top of Patsy’s head affectionately. “In that case, I’m going to head out too. Have a good night.”  
  
“You too.”   
  
She turned to Cinnamon and nuzzled him affectionately. “Cinnamon, we don’t know each other but I love and cherish you and would die for you.”

Patsy raised her eyebrows at the display but shrugged it off, until today she hadn’t even known that Trixie was a cat person.

Then again, Patsy didn’t even realise that she was a cat person.  
  
(There were plenty of days where she’d barely consider herself a people person)

  


* * *

  


 

The first customer of the day came to Patsy in the form of Barbara Gilbert, dressed in bright yellows and purple.

“Good morning Patsy, how are-” Barbara gasped suddenly. “Why are you covered in scratches?”

Patsy winced, thinking of ginger cat making himself comfortable in her apartment.

“I may have had a slight disagreement with my new house guest.”

Barbara nodded in understanding. “Trix mentioned that you’d adopted a cat. How’s it going?”  
  
“He’s taken over my apartment and my bed and I think he likes Trixie and Tony more than me.” Patsy explained.

“Patsy, you know that’s not the case.” Barbara reached over the counter and grabbed her hand. “Do you want a brew? Just point me in the direction of a kettle.”

Patsy smiled. “That’d be lovely.”  
  
  
  
Tea in hand, Barbara made herself comfortable in the spare seat beside Patsy, even going so far as to speak with the occasional customer that came inside to browse.

(Patsy had to wonder at what point did her store become a key area for her friends to hang out)

“Have you ever had a cat before?” Barbara asked. “Or… any pet for that matter?”  
  
Patsy shook her head. “My sister had a cat, she never really liked me so I kept my distance.” Patsy frowned. “And then…”

Barbara tilted her head to the side. “And then?”  
  
Patsy hesitated for a long moment before sniffing and shaking her head. “I went to school. Boarding school, boring old place. Never saw the blasted thing again to be honest.”   
  
Barbara nodded. “Well I’m sure that this is just a new adjustment for the both of you, just keep at it and i’m sure you’ll both be inseparable in no time” she trailed off thoughtfully for a moment. “In fact, I’m fairly sure that Delia could help.”   
  
“Why is it whenever I seem to have a problem, everyone’s immediate answer is Delia?”

Barbara shrugged. “I don’t know? But she’s an animal lover, so it makes sense?”

Patsy sighed. “It may be worth asking I suppose.”

“Yeah!” Barbara grinned. “That’s the spirit! Now I should probably go back to work? Tell Trixie I said hey!”  
  
“You’ll probably see her before I do.” Patsy replied.

  
  


* * *

 

  


“Good evening Patsy I brought wine and i’ve ordered pizza.” Tony walked into the apartment. “Trixie is on her way, we should ask Barbara and Delia if they want to come over too.”  
  
“Why is it always my home we congregate too?” Patsy wondered aloud, making space for Tony to walk by.

“Easy access, plus you have a cat.” Tony paused to give Cinnamon a scratch behind his ear. “Also my neighbours are dumb.”  
  
“You really need to move out.”   
  
“In this economy? In London?? In my dreams.” Tony sat down and lifted Cinnamon onto his lap. “Regardless, how was your day? How are things with your son?”   
  
“My son? Are you talking about Cinnamon?”   
  
“Your son.”   
  
“I’m not calling him my son.” Patsy sighed. “It’s okay, he mostly keeps his distance from me.”

Tony hummed thoughtfully stroking his hand along Cinnamon’s back, even from across the room, Patsy could hear him purring. It was hard not to feel a slight pang of jealousy, no matter how irrational she knew it was.

She grabbed her phone off of the counter and walked into the kitchen, scrolling through her contacts to Barbara’s number.

As Barbara answered, the first thing Patsy heard was the sound of a loud alarm.

 _“Patsy, hey, how’s it going?”_ Barbara asked, clearly trying to sound nonchalant despite the chaos in the background. 

“Hi… Barbara, what’s that sound?”  
  
_“There may have been an incident with my dinner and the microwave. Everything is fine.”_

“Is it?”  
  
_“...No, I don’t know how to turn the fire alarm off. I wish I had a hammer right now.”_

Patsy laughed. “I’ll send Tony over, we’re having pizza, plenty to go around.”  
_  
_ _“You guys are actual life savers.”_

“See you soon, Babs.”

“Why am I going to Barbara’s?” Tony asked.

“Fire alarm drama, can you help?”  
  
Tony got up and saluted. “On it. Cinnamon, take care of Patsy while I’m gone.”   
  
“Seriously?”   
  
“Call Delia too!” Tony yelled as he left.

Patsy sighed and walked over to Cinnamon, tentatively reaching out to pat his head. The cat stayed put for a whole two seconds before he ducked out of her reach and leapt off of the sofa, running off towards the bedroom.

“Yep. Seems about right.”

She waited a few moments to see if he would return before sitting down and calling Delia.

_“Hey Pats, everything okay?”_

“Not too bad, so hey, Tony is here and he’s decided to host a pizza party in my flat because apparently we’re teenagers rather than fully functioning adults. Barbara and Trixie are on their way and I was wondering if you wanted to come too?”  
  
_“That genuinely sounds wonderful but I’m just on break right now, I won’t finish for a few more hours.”_

“Are they still short staffed?” Patsy asked. She eyed Cinnamon wander out of her bedroom, past her and into the kitchen.

_“Yup. Not gonna say no to extra shifts though.”_

“Well… So long as you’re resting enough, i’ll save you a few slices if you feel like stopping by later?”

_“Aw, that’s sweet Pats.”_

“Yeah yeah.” Patsy murmured. “I’ll see you later?”  
  
_“Not if I see you first.”_   
  
Patsy reached for one of the wine bottles as soon as she set the phone down and headed towards the kitchen to grab some glasses.   


She really needed to learn how to tell whether people are flirting with her or not.  
  


  
“How do you mess up a microwave meal that badly?” Tony asked, genuine concern in his voice.

From personal experience, if Tony was surprised, then Patsy knew it was serious.

“That’s it, I’m signing us all up for a cooking class.” Trixie spoke up, typing away on her phone. “This is starting to get embarrassing.”  
  
“Oh my God, seriously?” Patsy asked. “Can’t we just use google like regular people?”   
  
“We’re beyond Google’s help, Patsy.” Trixie rolled her eyes. 

“What about Phyllis?” Patsy suggested. In all honesty, the idea of the four of them being potential hazards in a room full of strangers was not an appealing one.

“Phyllis is like Google’s cooler, more knowledgeable aunt.” Tony agreed.

Patsy opted to sit back with her glass of wine and leave Trixie and Tony to negotiate their terms- it was pointless to argue at this point, once Trixie had an idea in her head it was damn near impossible to get her to back down.

“Does this happen a lot?” Barbara asked Patsy quietly.

“A few months ago she signed us all up for a hula hoop class because she had a voucher for it.” Patsy replied.

“How’d that go?”  
  
“Trixie decided to keep going, Tony threw up and I haven’t been near a gym since.”

“Oh.”  
  
Patsy’s phone vibrated beside her, Delia’s name flashing onto the screen.  
  


 _From: Delia_  
YOU DIDN’T MENTION THAT YOU HAVE A CAT.  


Before Patsy could reply, another message came through.  


_From: Delia_   
THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT NEWS PATSY.  


_From: Delia_   
HURT. I AM HURT.  


It took Patsy’s brain a few moments to catch up to the messages before she was able to type out a reply.  


_To: Delia_  
 _His name is Cinnamon and I can guarantee that I did not plan this. Who told you?_  


_From: Delia_  
 _Tony sent a picture._  


_To: Delia_   
Of course he did  


_From: Delia_ _  
_ _I need to meet him immediately  
_  
  
_To: Delia_  
 _You know where to find us_

  
 _From: Delia_  
 _;)_  


Winky face generally equals flirting, that much Patsy knew.

“Okay, now that that’s all settled, can we watch a movie or something?” Trixie groaned.

“Wait, what happened?” Patsy asked.

“Crash course in adulthood 101, as taught by Phyllis Crane.”

“I can’t possibly imagine how that could go wrong.” Patsy sighed.   
  
“Yes yes.” Trixie waved a hand. “So, a movie? I don’t know why but i’m really feeling The First Wives club.”   
  
“Sounds good to me.”   
  
“I’ve never seen it.” Barbara admitted.

“Prepare to have your mind blown.”

  


“Thank you for letting me hijack your apartment for adult pizza party.” Tony hugged Patsy tightly.

“You can't just add wine to a situation and call it adult” Patsy said into his shoulder.

“That’s literally how it works.” Trixie said. “And I don't even drink anymore.”  
  
“Adulthood.” Barbara nodded seriously.

“As much as I love you all, can we maybe hang out somewhere other than where I live and work?” Patsy suggested.

“Will you be asking Delia the same thing?” Trixie asked with a wink.

“I don't even know where you're going with that.” Patsy replied, pushing her friend gently out of the door. “But thank you and I love you and text me when you get home.”

Trixie winked again and followed Tony.

“See you later Patsy.” Barbara waved.  
  
  


They'd been gone for less than half an hour before Delia called again, any illusions of tiredness faded pretty quickly as she asked if Patsy was still up and a nervous energy began to bubble beneath her skin as she waited for Delia to show up.  


“Hope you like pepperoni.” Patsy greeted.

“A classic.” Delia smiled and opened her arms to hug Patsy gently. “It’s good to see you.”  
  
“Aren’t you tired?” Patsy asked.

“To be honest Pats, I’m tired at any given moment, it’s basically a part of my personality at this point.

Patsy gestured towards the living room and Delia followed behind her, kicking off her shoes in the process.

“Besides, work is actually somewhat more peaceful than home and that’s saying something-” Delia let out a small squeal when she saw Cinnamon and immediately moved across the room to shower him with affection. “Oh my God look at you, you’re adorable aren’t you yes you are!”

Patsy watched the display for a few moments before moving closer. “Is home life that bad?”  
  
“Not bad.” Delia replied, still focused on the cat. “Just loud, I house share, it makes it actually somewhat affordable to live here but good lord are they loud it’s like being back in uni.”

“That certainly sounds intense, would you like a drink? Tea, coffee, wine?”  
  
“Tea sounds wonderful Pats, thank you.”   
  
Patsy smiled and made her way towards the kitchen. “You like lots of milk right?”

“Yes please!”

“Help yourself to pizza, there’s plenty leftover.”  
  


It was all too easy for Patsy and Delia to settle down together, Delia curled up onto the sofa with Cinnamon stretched across her legs while Patsy opted for the armchair just across from her. Their mugs were empty, pizza box open with only a few wayward crusts remaining and the TV on purely to provide background noise.

In fewer words, Patsy felt genuinely at ease.

“One time I’d pulled a thirty six hour shift, when I got home they were throwing a house party!”   
  
Patsy winced. “Oh my, what did you do?"

“Waited for them all to fall asleep and then played death metal on full volume.” Delia replied. “Petty, but satisfying.”

“I bet.” Patsy laughed.

Delia hummed and scratched under Cinnamon’s chin for a few moments. “I’ll move out soon, I just need to figure out where I’m going with life.” Delia threw her head back and sighed. “What’s it like having your life together?”  
  
“Oh i’m the furthest from having my life together.” Patsy dismissed. “I… I spend so much time wondering if I’m doing the right thing, if I’ve made the right career choice. Frankly it’s quite terrifying.”   
  
“There’s always comfort to be found in fellow adults feeling as lost as you feel.”   
  
“That’s some sage wisdom there, Busby.” Patsy replied.

Delia grinned. “Well I do try, Miss Mount.”

“You know, if it’s ever too much at home, you’re always welcome to stay here. I… Cinnamon would definitely love the company.”  
  
“Is that so?” Delia shifted so that she could look the cat in the eye. “Well I’d be happy to take you up on that offer, Cinnamon.”   
  
He meowed in approval.

“He looks forward to it."

Delia looked over and met Patsy’s gaze. “As do I.”

  


“Well Patsy, it was lovely as always to see you.” Delia moved up onto her tiptoes to pull Patsy into a hug. “Thank you for inviting me.”  
  
“Anytime.” Patsy replied, leaning further into the hug. “Text when you’ve gotten home okay?”   
  
“I will.”

As soon as Delia was gone, Patsy walked over to where Cinnamon was lying in the space Delia had previously occupied and crouched down in front of him.

“She’s amazing right?”

He blinked at her a couple of times.

“Yeah.” Patsy sighed. “I think so too.”

He didn’t move away when she tried to stroke him, which as far as she was concerned was progress.

“I do hope you and I will be friends soon and I know that’s mostly on me, I’m not used to having to share my space you see.”

Patsy drew her hand back, concerned about overstaying her welcome.

“I’m glad you like it here.”

  


* * *

  
  


“I’m just saying, it’d be nice for us to all learn some life skills.” Trixie shrugged, looking very comfortable sat on one of the counters in Patsy’s kitchen.

“When exactly did you become obsessed with learning life skills?”

“When it became obvious that me and the people I care about- people all in their mid to late twenties, have no idea how to look after themselves.” Trixie replied. “We can work and we can pay bills, which is fine, but we need to look after ourselves better and learning to cook even the basics will help that.”  
  
Patsy offered Trixie a croissant and sighed gently. “No point in fighting this is there?”   
  
Trixie beamed. “You should know the answer to that by now.”   
  
Patsy leaned against the counter beside her and they both watched as Cinnamon joined them in the kitchen to eat his own breakfast. “Oh I know, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to try.”

“Well I-” Trixie trailed off and frowned. “Is your phone vibrating?”

Patsy pulled out her phone and shook it in front of Trixie. “Nope?”   
  
It took a moment of focus, but Patsy could hear the muffled sound that Trixie was referring to.  
  
“You didn’t leave a vibrator on, did you?”   
  
“TRIXIE!”

“It happens to the best of us, Patsy!”

“Oh my God!” Patsy walked off towards the living room.

“It’s nothing to be ashamed of!”  
  
“We’re not having this talk, Trixie!” Patsy pulled the cushions away from the sofa to reveal a phone wedged in place. “It’s a phone for Christs sake.”   
  
She could hear Trixie walk up beside her and rolled her eyes the moment Trixie began to laugh.

“The back of your neck is bright red, embarrassed much?”

“Mortified, Trixie. Mortified is a more accurate word.” Patsy picked up the phone. “I didn’t really expect for breakfast conversation to switch to sex toys you see.”  
  
“We’ve been friends for years Patsy how is this news to you?”   
  
Trixie did have a point.   
  
“It’s Delia’s phone.” Patsy said, shifting the conversation back into reality. As she clicked the lock button she saw that there were several missed calls from her mom.

“We should take it back to her?” Trixie suggested.

“We don’t know where she lives.”  
  
“But we know where she works.”   
  
Patsy turned to Trixie and raised an eyebrow. “What if she isn’t there?”   
  
“What if she is?”   
  
“You’re not letting this go until I agree, are you?”   
  
Trixie grinned. “Nope.”

Patsy sighed. “Fine. Call Tony, see if he can come watch the store.”  
  
Trixie pressed her phone to her ear. “Oh don’t worry, I’m already on it.”   
  
Of course she was.

  


“Tony is sad that he can’t be part of this romantic adventure.” Trixie called. She paused momentarily to start typing out a response.

“There’s nothing romantic about returning a phone to a friend.” Patsy replied, she looped her arm through Trixie’s so that she could guide her as they walked.

She was thankful to be outside for a change, they’d spent too long riding the tube for Patsy to feel comfortable and it was only made worse by the fact that it had been during rush hour too.

“Please, when you and Delia are concerned you can practically hear love songs playing in the background.” Trixie said.

“I could say the same about you and Babs.” Patsy shot back.

Trixie blushed quickly and put her phone away.

“You’re buying the coffee once we’re done here.” Patsy said.

“Deal.” Trixie rolled her eyes.

  


It was a relatively quick walk to the hospital from that point, it was easy to distract Trixie from any teasing by asking her about her plans for their adventure into cooking.

 

Once inside the hospital it was surprisingly easy to pursuade the receptionist into contacting Delia’s department and passing along a message for her, gesturing distractedly for Patsy and Trixie to take a seat while they waited.

“Are you nervous because you’re seeing Delia, or nervous about being in a hospital?” Trixie asked.

“Column B.” Patsy replied. “It’s fine Trix, I almost went into a career here remember.”  
  
Trixie gave Patsy’s hand a soft squeeze. “I also remember how one of the reasons you didn’t follow through with that was because you didn’t particularly like hospitals.”

Patsy didn’t reply, sometimes it was unnerving to her how well her friends could read her.

“Do you want me to tease you for your crush on Delia?” Trixie asked seriously.

Patsy laughed. “No, thank you.”  
  
“We could talk about vibrators again if you want.”   
  
A couple passing by did a double take at hearing Trixie’s words, it was enough to throw Patsy into a fit of laughter.

So much so that she didn’t notice Delia approaching.

“I feel like I’m missing something very important.” She said in place of greeting.

Patsy wiped a tear from her eye. “Hey Deels.”  
  
Delia was grinning from ear to ear. “Do I want to know?”   
  
Trixie opened her mouth to speak but Patsy grabbed her hand quickly, nodding towards a young woman holding a child.

“I’m afraid it’s not suitable for all ages.” Trixie said instead.

Patsy stood up and pulled Delia’s phone from her bag, walking over to offer it to her. “It appears that you left this at my flat.”

Delia took it and spent a few moments checking the messages, her face cycling through a series of expressions. “Oh boy, mom is going to be pissed.” She looked up and met Patsy’s gaze. “Thank you so much Pats, truly.”

“It’s no problem, honestly.”

Delia hugged Patsy for what felt like the dozenth time in twenty four hours, and yet it still felt as warm and inviting and contained the same amount of care as the first time.

Trixie walked over to join Patsy’s side. “I’ve been told that I’m buying the coffee’s this morning, do you want to join us?”  
  
Delia checked her watch. “I can’t really leave the hospital… But we have a Starbucks in the cafeteria?”   
  
“Seriously?” Patsy asked.

Delia shrugged. “Welcome to the twenty first century.”

“Starbucks sounds great.” Trixie looked to Patsy, who in turn looked to Delia.  
  
“Lead the way.”

“Oh Goodness, Patience Mount?”  
  
Patsy froze in mid step, Trixie and Delia following in suit and looked at Patsy with confusion, then looking over her shoulder at the source of the voice.  


A voice that had a distinctly posh tone that would rival her own.  


It was also a voice that Patsy was extremely familiar with, despite not hearing it for quite a long time.

Patsy turned on her heel and felt herself smiling up at the equally familiar figure.   


“Hello there Chummy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to yell at me @puppydanvers on tumblr for my inconsistencies and all around being useless at actually putting words to fic
> 
> But in all honesty i do plan on actually finishing this fic it's going to be my escape from life while i do training so i can try to avoid a stress related breakdown ANYWAY THANK YOU GUYS IM SORRY AGAIN AND I LOVE YOU ALL


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